Harnessing water power to provide electricity - could this work for new homes?
Quick Move Properties is always on the look-out for new technology or ideas to help our new home builders. Although not technically new (the name Archimedes gives that away!), an Oxfordshire based company, Hallidays Hydropower, is proving that the use of hydrodynamic Archimedean screws to harness water energy in new residential developments is not only possible, but can also bring in a significant revenue stream – no pun intended!
What is a hydro screw?
Whereas conventional wheels or turbines are placed so that they come into contact with water at only one point, a hydrodynamic screw is positioned so that it is in contact with the water as it moves from a higher to a lower level at all points along its length. The energy gathered from this falling water is then transformed into electricity.
The screw is highly efficient, harnessing up to 87% of the energy captured from the turning motion. Screws currently in place range from one metre up to ten metres and can handle a flow rate of between 0.1m3/s and 15m3/s per screw. In this range the hydro screw has been proven to be the most efficient method.
History of the hydro screw
Archimedes invented the screw pump that bears his name around 260BC but it wasn’t until 1997 that the flow of water was reversed to power a generator. Initially, hydropower was only available for sites with a considerable water level drop, however, with the Hallidays hydro screw, it is now possible to capture energy from much smaller drops as well as from rivers and streams with lower flow rates.
This means that the possibility of using hydro power to provide electricity is no longer limited to large corporations and is now available for new home builders to use in energy conscious developments.
Case study - Dandridge's Mill, Oxfordshire
Hallidays Hydropower designed and installed a hydro screw at the award winning Grade II listed site; Dandridge’s Mill. The Mill was converted into four apartments and the hydro screw provides their electricity.
A 2.4m drop in water level with flow rate of 0.36m3/second allowed for the installation of a 5kW scheme, producing in excess of 27,000kWh a year.
Dandridge's Mill generates a combined revenue and savings of £7,500 per year. See more here…
How do I see a return on investment?
With a life expectancy in excess of 40 years, and 20 years’ worth of guaranteed government subsidies, installing hydro screw systems can be a valuable investment producing sustainable long-term cash flows.
Hallidays Hydropower is keen to invest in suitable sites and would welcome the opportunity to invest in your site if practical. Such investment is limited to schemes greater than 50kW.
For those developing sites with rental potential, revenue can be earned by selling any excess power generated to the national grid. For those sites built to be sold, what better marketing tool for potential vendors than a property that has no electricity bills and generates its own income!
About Hallidays Hydropower
Working closely with bodies such as the Environment Agency, the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving Trust, as well as local planning authorities, Hallidays Hydropower has won multiple awards and continues to be nominated for its ongoing environmental work with hydropower.
www.hallidayshydropower.com
henry@hallidays.com
01865 349020
