Hydraulic Pico Project

[jeanluc1102]

hello I plan to make a proto concerning a simplistic system of a hydraulic power station which would turn a generator of type "pigott", the idea would consist in making turn a water paddle wheel via a water tank which would involve it the generator, a recuperator below to store the water then via a motor pump powered by photovoltaic would refill the upper tank
a good sketch is worth a long speech, sorry I have to be a little bit blond how to insert an image from my computer?
a ++
jluc

[Alfybe]

Hello,
In short, you are trying to store energy by hydraulic storage.
It's a technique that has been running for quite some time but I'm not sure it's suitable for small installations
In my area (Trois-ponts, Belgium) there is a water reservoir with 2 basins. The day the upper basin empties into the lower via a generator to give a boost to the network during peak consumption. During off-peak periods, a pump raises the water.
This technique works in addition to nuclear plants with slow power variations and they use this technique to smooth the operation of the reactors.
Only this technique is not profitable (opinion without numerical support) a lot of investment and not terrific performance if you add the output of the generator and pump (take 80% for each) you are at 64%. not to mention the 15% yield for the best solar panels.
Alfybe

[izentrop]

Hello,
It is clear that a small system will have a disastrous return.
Recently discussed topic energies-renewable / project-hydro-electric-t16039.html # p361065

[Christophe]

a good sketch is worth a long speech, sorry I have to be a little bit blond how to insert an image from my computer?
a ++
jluc

Use the attachments function at the top of the editing window ...

[Bardal]

Attention especially to the sizes in this kind of project:

- 1 Wh (which is very weak), it is 360 liters of water falling from a meter

- 1 kWh is 360 M3 of water falling by one meter, or 36 M3 falling from 10 m (which is already a colossal installation for a particular)

I do not know how much energy you intend to store, but the first calculation to make is this one.

As for the basins built to optimize the energy of the nuclear power plants, it is the STEPs, which are precisely not built (they are high-altitude basins created by dams), and their volume is expressed in km3, the differential of altitude in hundreds of meters; nothing that is within the reach of an amateur ...

Of course, you need a basin at the top and a basin at the bottom, both of the adequate volume calculated above.