Alternative not encouraged...

maxmycardagain

Almost bought a house in Wales, off beaten track, it had a darn good stream alongside it, i planned on installing a water driven generator till Dwy Cymru wanted a fee for "abstracting" water.... it would only have turned a paddle wheei

Netexporter

The same applies in other parts of the UK. How much power were you expecting to generate?

Dustyevsky

Surely the cost, whether you agree with it or not, has to be balanced against the possible gains? It may be arguable that no real extraction would take place, but abandoning something because it offends your principles might be to your overall disadvantage and not particularly sensible.

Having said that, the viability of a stream for power or water supply needs careful assessment. I'm not in Wales, but I have a very useful-looking stream at present. It won't look so promising in an average August!

maxmycardagain

Dustyevsky said:

Surely the cost, whether you agree with it or not, has to be balanced against the possible gains? It may be arguable that no real extraction would take place, but abandoning something because it offends your principles might be to your overall disadvantage and not particularly sensible.

Having said that, the viability of a stream for power or water supply needs careful assessment. I'm not in Wales, but I have a very useful-looking stream at present. It won't look so promising in an average August!

The mains supply was erratic,so that was one big plus point, it was either that or a diesel generator (not very eco) one would have hoped for some support for any eco ideas, as for continuity of supply (water) it was - some years - the wettest place in the uk, the locals had web feet....

Jaybee_16

Electrician I used here in west Wales installed a generator in a stream on his farm and wasn't charged for it. Maybe he just never told them.

Netexporter

A 3 metre diameter overshot wheel will only produce about 1 to 1.5 kW of electricity.

maxmycardagain

Netexporter said:

A 3 metre diameter overshot wheel will only produce about 1 to 1.5 kW of electricity.

the thinking is to charge a bank of batteries and feed into the domestic using an inverter 

QrizB

maxmycardagain said:

Almost bought a house in Wales, off beaten track,

Was this recently? Is the house still on Zoopla / Rightmove?

maxmycardagain

QrizB said:

maxmycardagain said:

Almost bought a house in Wales, off beaten track,

Was this recently? Is the house still on Zoopla / Rightmove?

no, a few years back, good chance the house is derelict now - as it wasnt great back then

FreeBear

Netexporter said:

A 3 metre diameter overshot wheel will only produce about 1 to 1.5 kW of electricity.

The power output would surely be more dependent on the water flow rate & head.

These guys are getting 3KW out of a small water powered turbine - https://cat.org.uk/info-resources/free-information-service/energy/micro-hydro/ - With sufficient funds, I would have thought a 5KW could be viable if there is a big enough flow.

Even with a modest flow, 1-1.5KW chugging away 24/7 would outperform a solar array (certainly during the winter months). And I doubt you would need a 3m diameter wheel to get that sort of power.

Netexporter

The power output would surely be more dependent on the water flow rate & head.

The head is 3 metres on a 3 metre overshot. Can't be any more or less.

These guys are getting 3KW out of a small water powered turbine - https://cat.org.uk/info-resources/free-information-service/energy/micro-hydro/ - With sufficient funds, I would have thought a 5KW could be viable if there is a big enough flow.

You need a hell of a lot of head for a turbine. There's on on the edge of my village and the pipe goes miles up the hill. The cost of the actual turbine is minuscule compared to the other work.