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How much energy can you gain from a given amount of

water falling at a certain height?
The basic elements required for a potential hydropower
development are stream flow and an available drop, or "head",
through which the stream flow can be used to convert the
potential hydraulic energy into electrical energy. The power
generated is represented by the equation:
P = eHQgwhere: P = Electric Power Output in kilowatts
(kW)
e = Efficiency range 0.75 to 0.88 (75% to 88%)
H = Head, in metres (m)
Q = Design flow, in cubic metres/sec (m3/s)
g = acceleration of gravity, normally 9.81 m/s/s
For small-scale hydroelectric applications, if an Efficiency value of
81% is assumed, the following equation can be used:
P (kW) = 7.95 x H (m) x Q (m3/s)

Calculations for micro-hydro turbine jet impact velocity are based

on the same sort of calculations done for pump systems, except
there is no pump. The energy is provided by the difference in
elevation between the inlet and outlet of the system (see Figure
1). The inlet (point 1) is defined as the surface elevation of the
water source and the outlet is at the nozzle outlet (point 2).
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Figure 1

The general equation for fluid flow between two points is:

(1)

where z1 and z2 are respectively the elevation at points 1 and 2.

We also have velocity and pressure head at points 1 and 2.

Calculating velocity from flow rate

The flow rate in a pipe depends on velocity and surface area:

Since the surface area for a pipe is pd2/4. Using consistent units
in the Imperial system we obtain:
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And after simplification:

` (2)

Or

(3)
Imperial units

(3-1)
Metric units

Calculating nozzle velocity v2

The velocity v1 is the velocity of fluid particles at the water

source surface (see Figure 1), this velocity will be quite small and
negligible, v1 =0. The velocity v2 is the velocity of the water jet
at the nozzle; this is the quantity we are looking for. The pressure
head H1 corresponds to any external pressure that might be
imposed at point 1, in this case it is zero, H1 = 0. The pressure
head H2 is the pressure at the outlet of the nozzle, since the
water jet comes out in the free atmosphere H2 = 0. HF is the
friction loss between points 1 and 2, it is comprised of the pipe
friction loss, filter intake loss, fittings and manual valve losses. g
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is the acceleration due to gravity, g = 32.17 ft/s2. If we replace

these values into equation (1) we obtain:

(4)

V2 becomes:

(5)
Imperial units

(5-1)
Metric units

Solving equation (5) is an iterative process; first we give a trial

value to the flow rate q and then calculate HF

and from this result we then calculate v2 again based on equation

(5). If the values are different we modify the value of v2 and try
again until are trial value is the same as the calculated value.

or you use this spreadsheet that has these formulas already

programmed:
Micro-hydro_power.xls

Calculating available power

The design of the Pelton turbine is such that it is at it's most

efficient when its peripheral speed is half the speed of the
incoming water jet
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The power in the water jet is equal to γhq where γ gamma is the
specific weight of water, h is the available head and q the flow
rate. If we know the velocity, the power can be expressed as
1/2ρv2q where ρ rho is the water density and v the water jet
nozzle velocity. Either one of these expressions gives the
theoretical power available from the water jet.

The Pelton turbine is designed to produce maximum power when

the peripheral speed is 1/2 of the water jet speed. The power
transmitted to the turbine wheel is 0.5γhq. The 50% is theoretical
and is based on the fact that the water jet is reversed due to the
wheel cup design 180 degrees back towards its source. The
reversed water jet is not exactly in line so that the wheel itself
has a real world efficiency of 90% or better. Therefore that power
at the turbine wheel is:

0.9 x 0.5 x γ x h x q

Using Imperial units:

or in metric units:

Which simplifies to?

(6)
Imperial units
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(6-1)
Metric units

If we use the formula using nozzle velocity:

(7)

Where ρ is the density and q the volumetric flow rate. To make all
the units consistent in the Imperial system the power P in
equation (7) must be divided by the constant gc, using the proper
units with their conversion factors and the water density of 62.34
lbm/ft3, we obtain:

which simplifies to:

(8)

or in metric units

which simplifies to:

(8-1)
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Calculating turbine speed

The turbine peripheral velocity will be half the water jet velocity.

(9)

The equation for rotational vs. peripheral velocity is:

(10)

where ω omega is the rotational velocity in radians/second and d

the diameter of the turbine wheel. We would like to use the units
of rpm for ω and inch for d. Therefore equation (10) becomes:

(11)

Imperial units

(11-1)
Metric units

And after simplification equation (11) becomes:

(12)

Or in metric units

(12-1)
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By replacing the value of vturb in equation (9) into equation (11)

we obtain:

(13)

Or in metric units

(13-1)

Therefore the rotational velocity of the turbine is:

(14)

or in metric units

(14-1)
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Well water quantity calculation at pump startup

• (a) Air in top of the well casing: water rises only to a
height somewhere below the very top of the well.
• (h) static head: explained above
• (c) well bottom clearance: our well pump or foot valve (if
the pump is not in the well) was placed 5' off of the well
bottom © in the sketch, a distance to avoid drawing mud
into the pump
• (d) total well depth: measured from the top of the ground
to the bottom of the well
Static head water quantity (h) = Total well depth (d) - Air
(a) - Clearance at bottom (c)
Well Yield: Well Water Delivery Rate - the Well Recovery
Rate or Well Flow Rate
Well Recovery Rate is the rate at which water runs into the
well from the rock fissures and openings into the lower portion of
the well below the steel casing, while we're pumping water out of
the well. Some other terms for well recovery rate include well
yield, well flow rate, and well water quantity. Since the
"recovery rate" of a well describes the rate at which water runs
into the well, a well recovery rate also defines the rate at which
water can be pumped out of a well without pumping the well
down so far that the pump "runs dry".
Typical numbers for well recovery rates (if measured honestly
over a 24-hour period) run from a fraction of a gallon per minute
(a terribly poor well recovery or flow rate) to 3 gallons a minute of
water flow (not great but useable) to 5 gallons per minute (just
fine for residential use) to more than 10 gpm (a great well
recovery rate for residential use).
The well flow rate or recovery rate is not equal to the well
pumping rate: that is, most water pumps can pump water out
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of a well faster than water runs in unless the well has a great
recovery rate. For wells with modest recovery rates of say 2-3
gpm, some well installers or plumbers design the pump so that it
cannot pump faster than this rate, thus avoiding pumping the well
dry and possibly damaging the water pump itself.
So you could pump water out of a well very fast, say at 10 or
even 15 gpm. But if the well recovery rate is less than the well
pumping rate, you're going to run out of water. How soon you run
out of water depends on how much water was in the well casing
when you started pumping, and also on the well recovery rate. We
explain this in more detail just below.
We offer a more detailed (and more confusing) equation used to
calculate the details of a well recovery rate in our discussion at
Drilled Wells - steel casings. But it's easier to simply pull water
out of a well at a given rate and see how long we can do so.
That's about what a well driller does to determine the effective
well flow rate when a new well is drilled. Pulling water out of the
well (using a variable-rate pump running at a rate set by the well
test professional) integrates all of the different rock fissure flow
rates into a single quantity of water.