What seems like a complex piece of machinery (a hydroelectric generator) is really quite simple when you discover how it works to produce this type of energy. You should know just exactly what it means to use hydroelectric energy sources and how the process of hydroelectric energy works. You can eventually derive a sufficient amount of energy from this source if you understand the basics. If you live near a river or stream, one of the ways to produce your own energy is through a small-scale hydroelectric plant.
The massive electric companies tend to tie up many of these resources, and they aren’t about to help anyone who is going off their grid. There are many different ways to create energy, but getting it in the quantity that you need to power your home may require a little creativity.
“Heather,” “Ultima Thule,” “Sylvestor,” “Slate Tracker,” “One Quiet Conversation,” “A Certain Lightness,” and “Greyleaf Willow,” by Blue Dot Sessions. Music licensed under Creative Commons attribution.When attempting to go off the grid with your energy source, it can seem hard to get started.
#Micro hydro power for off grid houses series
This is the third of a four-part series on understanding and dealing with a changing climate. Both researchers are also affiliated with the Duke Energy Access Project an exciting initiative that takes an interdisciplinary approach to developing sustainable, modern energy solutions around the world.įor their work in Nepal, Robin and Subhrendu are collaborating with the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre which is a part of the Government of Nepal in their Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation. Robyn Meeks and Subhrendu Pattanayaak’s work is funded by the Duke Energy Initiative Seed Grant Program. It is for this reason that the team of Duke researchers find themselves in the Himalayas: to find out why some work and some don’t, and to see if this small but beautiful alternative energy source may be a viable solution for providing electricity to off-grid communities not only in Nepal but around the world.
Many don’t produce enough electricity for the community, or sometimes none at all. In other villages however, these systems are far less effective.
#Micro hydro power for off grid houses drivers
For most mountain communities, living off-grid is the only option.īut rather than fight against their geography, many of these communities have discovered a way to use the mountains to their advantage, harnessing the power of the fast-flowing mountain streams for power using a system called a micro-hydro minigrid.įor many communities, these systems not only provide power for basic necessities like lighting and cooking, but also are drivers of local economies. Here lay the source of electricity for an entire community.Ĩ0% of the geography of Nepal is composed of mountain ranges like Annapurna, making the big power grids that we take for granted in the developed world an impossibility in much of Nepal.
Gone are the paved roads of Pokhara, the Nepali city where they had begun their day, or even the narrow dirt roads that had carried them deep into the mountainside.Īhead, the whir of engines in symphony with the rushing water of a nearby stream mark an end to their journey: a tiny structure containing within it a single turbine, waist high and six feet wide.
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