Process

Standard Siting:

Take head and flow measurements. Calculate potential power, Power = Head * Flow/10. Equation is at 53 % efficiency.

Equipment Selection:

Select equipment that matches your site specifications and needs. Get trained on the equipment.

Installation:

Carefully plan out the installation. Careful planning will eliminate costly mistakes that will be made to an installation done on the fly.

Pipeline- Clear path of the pipeline. Dig trench to bury the pipe wherever possible. Otherwise, supports and thrust blocks must be factored into a pipeline above ground. Layout sections for the whole pipeline then make your connections.

Turbine housing- Turbine and generator must be kept dry. If theft is of concern, make sure housing will be theft-proof. Install locks as necessary.

Testing:

The majority of time should be spent installing, but significant amount of time should be spent testing. Testing the generator and load governor at full lamp loads would be standard tests to ensure proper operation of both.

Maintenance:

Micro-hydro systems need to be maintained in order to operate at their best. Standard maintenance should be done at least once a month if not done every couple of weeks. These include, but are not limited to:

cleaning screens around intake tank and everywhere else.

clearing the intake tank of sediment and leaves.

fixing leaks in the pipe and intake tank.

Click for powerpoint of our installation process (14 MB)