A diagram of a typical micro hydro power system that diverts water from a river.If you have a stream, you have a renewable, natural source of energy that, if done right, can have little to no impact on the environment around you. Using water as a power source goes back to ancient times. Roman was known to power their empire on it. There is abundant supply of streams and rivers that criss cross the US making micro-hydro power feasible. That is especially true in remote wooded areas where other natural energy, such as solar or wind, would be harder to integrate into the existing environment.

A micro-hydro power system needs a sufficient amount of falling water to be available in order to be feasible. Mountainous and hilly sites are best suited for this type of renewable energy. To figure out the amount of power that is possible from your water source you need to know the head and flow of your stream. The head is the vertical distance of the falling water. While the flow is the speed the water flows at.

A micro-hydro power site usually falls into either a low or high head category. A higher head is better due to needing less water to produce energy as well as the equipment being cheaper than those with a low head. A change in elevation that is less then 10ft (3 meters) is categorized as low head. Anything with a vertical drop less than 2ft (.6 meters) will make a micro-hydro power system not possible. Though if you have as little as 13” of water depth you are able to utilize a submersible turbine, which was originally designed to power scientific instruments being towed behind exploration ships.

There is both a gross and net head that needs to be calculated. The gross head is the vertical distance between where the water enters the penstock, pipes that convey the water under pressure, to where the water exits the turbine. You calculate your net head by subtracting the friction that is caused by the piping and the turbine itself.

While the best way to get an accurate gross head is to have a professional survey of your desired site, you can do a rough estimate yourself. You can use the hose-tube method by taking stream-depth measurements across the width of the water supply you intend to use. Once you know where you intend to place the beginning of the penstock and the turbine you can follow the direction below.

The Hose-Tube Method is done by:

1. Make sure you have all supplies needed: Someone to help, 20ft to 30ft (6 to 9 meters) small diameter garden hose, Funnel, Measuring tape or yardstick
2. Stretch the hose down the water channel from desired entrance to the penstock (usually the highest elevation)
3. One person place the funnel into the hose upstream as close to the surface as possible
4. At the downstream position have the other person lift their end until the water ceases to flow from it.
5. Then measure the vertical distance from the surface of the water to the end of the hose. This is your gross head for this section of the waterway.
6. Then move the funnel end of the hose to where the measurement was taken and once again stretch your hose down the water channel and repeat steps 3 thru 5 until you reach your desired position for the turbine.
7. Once you have completed your measurements for each section, from entrance to pipes to exit from turbine, add them together for a gross head of the site chosen.
   
8. To be conservative in your measurements it is best to subtract 1 – 2 inches (2 – 5 centimeters) from each measurement before adding to account for water that can continue to flow after both ends are level.

The flow of your waterway can probably be found at public sources; such as a U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, your county’s engineer, or local water supply of flood control authorities. If the flow is unavailable from these sources you can also do a rough estimate at the site yourself. There are two simple methods for this:

1. The bucket method which involves damming your stream to divert its flow into a bucket or container. The rate at which the container fills is the flow rate. If you used a 5 gallon bucket and it was filled in one minute then your flow rate would be 5 gallons a minute.

2. As long as the water isn’t fast flowing and/or over your calves you can use weighted-float method. This involves measuring the depths of the waterway across its width. To do this you will need: a helper, tape measure, yardstick, weighted-float (a plastic bottle halfway filled with water will do), stopwatch, and graph paper. Then to calculate the flow for a cross section of the waterway at its lowest water level you need to:

1. Find the most uniform depth and straightest stretch of the waterway
2. Measure the width of the waterway at the narrowest point
3. Use the yardstick vertically to measure the depth at 1ft increments. You may wish to use a string stretched across to mark the increments.
4. Plot the measurements on the paper to give you a cross section diagram of the waterway
5. Calculate the area of each section by determining the areas of the rectangles (area = length × width) and right triangles (area = ½ base × height) in each section
6. From the section you measured mark a point at least 20ft upstream
7. From there release your weighted-float and time how long it takes to reach your measured part of the waterway. Be careful to not let the weighted-float drag on the streambed at anytime.
8. To get your flow velocity divide the distance between the two points by the seconds it took the float to travel. Doing this multiple times and using the average will you give you a better measurement
9. Multiply the velocity average by the cross-sectional area of the stream
10. Finally you need to account for the roughness of the bed of the waterway. You will need to multiple the results by either 0.6, for many rough stones on the bottom, 0.7, for only small to medium stones on the bottom, or 0.8, for a smooth sandy type bottom.

Once you have the flow and head calculations you can estimate the power outage for a standard microhydropower system, which has about 53% efficiency. To do this you multiply the net head by the flow then divide by 10 to get the output in watts.

net head [(feet) × flow (gpm)] ÷ 10 = W

Caution: Please remember that flowing waterways will have variable flows throughout the year. So taking the measurements at the waterways lowest average for the year can ensure that enough energy output is available to support your energy needs.

When you are considering this alternative for your personal energy system you need to consider the power output that is possible, the price, and legal issues, such as water rights and permits. These issues taken as a whole will help decide if this renewable energy is for you. Considering the low impact on the environment, the ability to build it yourself with locally available parts, and the fact that it has been used for thousands of years makes this natural energy stand alone in todays search for alternatives to the conventional power supply.

Managing water has become a growing concern. Though the Earth has abundant water only about 1% is actually available for human use. So taking into account that population and the demand for usable water will be increasing in the future while the supply will remain constant, a decision to increase efficiency by consumers at large was made.

The average American household uses about 100,000 gallons of water a year. And some of that is waste. That adds up to about 900 billion gallons of wasted water from just American households. Off-grid or not - give your bathroom a high-efficiency makeover, and save more than 11,000 gallons annually (over 10%).

Installing WaterSense toilets and faucets or faucet accessories reduces water bills, and the upgrade could pay for itself in a few years and continue to save water and money for years to come.

Replacing all the inefficient toilets in the US alone with WaterSense labeled toilets the US nation could save 640 billion gallons of water that is literally being flushed away every year.

The program works by promoting water efficiency and the products, programs, and practices that can be used every day by people. It was open for public input on May 22, 2008 when the draft specification for water-efficient single family new homes was released. These are open for public input until July 21, 2008. So even though products will be hitting the shelves and programs will be starting soon the complete specifications for this program will not be finalized until later.

Programs and products that meet the performance and efficiency criteria of this EPA program will be allowed to carry the WaterSense label.This can be a big help for those who are remodeling, or trying to cut down on water use for either drought or monetary reasons. With this new label you are assured that these products will perform well, help you save money, and even help to encourage move innovation in the creation of even better performing water products. You can visit the EPA website to see a list of water-efficient products

They have designed many of the products to not require a change in your lifestyle, just in the water you use. Changing faucets, toilets, landscaping devices, etc. is all that is needed to make a positive impact on both your wallet and the environment. For those who live in drought prone areas that can make a big difference if as a community you change over to these new easy to identify products.

Growing communities are now faced with the problem of not only needing an increased supply but the infrastructure to support it. The WaterSense program is also designed to help these communities to build that infrastructure in the most efficient way. This is not a concern for the average citizen but knowing that this program is designed to help the community at large as well as the individual means more water for everyone.

The Australian National University (ANU) scientist Tony Flynn has developed a process to create water filters from commonly available materials. The materials need to also be fired, which can be done without a kiln or other western technology, by using common manure.

An estimated 80% of all sickness in this world can be attributed to unsafe water and sanitation according to the World Health Organization (WHO). That can be seen in the annual 1.5 billion episodes of diarrhea in children under the age of 5, with about four million of those being fatal.

Since historically water filters have had to be imported to developing nations, which means increased cost and reduced availability for the populace. With the new filter design made from common place materials available in even the most remote places.

“These filters are a hollow ceramic vessel filled with charcoal. They are intended to filter out suspended silt and bacteria. However, at around $US5 each, they’re too expensive for individuals in many developing communities to consider purchasing,” stated Mr Flynn. “They are very simple to explain and demonstrate and can be made by anyone, anywhere. They don’t require any Western technology. All you need is terracotta clay, some used coffee grounds or tea leaves, a compliant cow and a match,” Mr Flynn continued “Everyone has a right to clean water, these filters have the potential to enable anyone in the world to drink water safely.”

Filter production is simple:

• A handful of crushed dry clay
• A handful of common organic material, such as coffee grounds, rice hulls, or used tea leaves
• Add water, just enough to make a stiff biscuit dough like mixture
• Shape into a cylinder shaped pot closed on one end
• Dry it in sun
• Place dried filter on a layer of dry manure, a little straw, dead leaves or shredded bark
• Add two more layers of manure mixture on top
• Light the straw, dead leaves, or shredder bark
• Keep fire going until pot is completely cured (less than an hour in most cases, as different materials will mean different times)

Since using a potters kiln can take up to eight to nine hours to achieve the temperatures needed, which can be achieved using this method in a hour or less. Also with the expensive of such a kiln being prohibitive to most people, this is an excellent method anyone can make use of. Especially since no additional technology, or added insulation is needed being able to drink safe, filtered water water in almost any location on the planet. As long as water, manure, red/yellow clay and human organic debris you can make a filter that traps pathogens.

This design is purposely not being patented in a hope that it can be freely used around the world. Their belief that even third world countries should have the ability to have clean safe drinking water.

When the organic material is burned away inside the clay during the firing process it will leave cavities that can trap pathogens in the water. It is based on the basic principal that these cavities are big enough for water to pass through while being too narrow for the dangerous pathogens and the fine materials that make water muddy and unpleasant. Testing was done with E-coli bacterium and saw the filter remove 96.4% to 99.8% of the pathogen, which is well within the recommended safe levels.

This invention came from the a World Vision project that involved the community of Manatuto, in East Timor. This project was to rehabilitate a small community of potters that was devastated in the East Timor’s civil war for Independence. It was hoped that by helping the potters to produce filters would help in two ways; one give the community clean drinking water and two provide a means of revenue for the community by producing and selling them.

Using one filter it was found to produce a liter of clean water in two hours.

Being tankless in heating your water is an easy, if somewhat costly, upgrade that you can see immediate benefits from. Costs can vary from about $150 for point of use water heater to household ones starting about $450 going up to $1000 or more for top of the line models. Point of use models install directly under the water fixture which also means less heat loss and you can convert your water heating system slowly one water fixture at a time. But since most houses have at least two sink and a tub you will already go over the cost of the cheapest whole house tankless system. On the plus the up front cost can be spread out over time, and for smaller places such as boats, RV’s, campers, etc. it might just be what you are looking for.

The average household spends $50 or more a month just to keep hot water at the ready. This means that the hot water is heated and then stored in it’s tank to wait for use. Just like anything else that id hot and left to sit heat loss happens and then it needs to be re-heated, which just starts the cycle over again. Once the water is used the cycle is again in place till that water is used, and so on. That is a lot of wasted energy you are paying for just to have the convenience of on demand hot water. At that hot water is finite since the average tank system holds about 40 galleons and tankless can supply an infinite supply. Chyanging over to a tankless system lets you use as little or as much hot water as you need without the worry over running out or heating more than needed.

The lifespan of a tankless water heater, 20+ years, is almost double that of a convential water heater, 8 to 12 years, Also a tankless system is serviceable while most tank water systems are not. Tankless systems also can be installed outside your home or in a fraction of the space vacated by your convetnional one. It’s almost like adding a small closet to your home of usable square footage.

The conventional water heater is only about 40% to 60% energy efficient do to the heat loss through the exhaust and the walls of the tank. While tankless are 60% efficient for the gas version and 99% efficient for the electric version. So for those of you who have or are looking to change to personal energy systems this is one less drain of your limited energy production without lossing the comfort of hot water on demand.

For those who use radiant heat, tankless systems can work for you too., They can be installed in RV’s boats,mobile homes, sheds, barns, etc. So the applications seem almost endless for anyplace you need/want on demand hot water production. Plus since there is no storage tank associated with this system you won’t need to worry about it freezing and bursting in frigid temperatures. So there will be no messy floods to clean up as you can have from leaking or broken tank water heater systems.

Venting for theses systems is also flexible as some can be vented horizontally and vertically, some can even be vented through existing chimneys. Most of the newer models also have computer-monitored safety devices with automatic water and gas valves to make them as safe as possible.

Payback for the additional cost of these tankless varieties is 3 to 7 years depending on usage and model bought. If you have a smaller household the payback will be seen faster as you will no longer be constantly re-heating unused hot water. For a larger household the convience of multi-showering, either in a row or at the same time, will be noticed right away. That means no more worrying about when the 40 galleons are used up, about 20 minuets, when you are all lined up in the morning to start your day.

For anyone desiring a better way to have hot water in their home look into these tankless water heater at your local hardware/home improvement store or research models on the net. The benefits definitely outweigh the higher price tag. In addition you are adding value to your home.

Daniel Start goes wild

Britain�s freshwater rivers, lakes and waterfalls are cleaner, safer and more accessible than at any time in living memory.

To celebrate, photographer and travel writer Daniel Start has set out to find Britain�s 150 favourite swimming holes in a new photo-guide book Wild Swimming: 150 Hidden Dips in the Rivers, Lakes and Waterfalls of Britain. There are sections on skinny dipping, waterfalls, wild swimming with children, canoe camping,raft making and riverside wildlife too You can find an interactive map, plus guidance and articles, (more…)

A simple and effective way to conserve water and save money on water bills is to change your toilet to a dual flush one. This can be done as simply as buying a new dual flush toilet, just a dual flush tank, or using a conversion kit for a conventional toilet.

Since a dual flush toilet is designed to only use the water needed to flush the waste you save and you don’t have to use the practice of only flushing on number 2 as has been advised to me before. If you live in a house full of people, did I mention that 6 people live in my home and during the summer/fall months 7, that can leave an unpleasant odor lingering in your bathroom. Since composting toilets are also not an option, we’ve looked into other avenues.

Dual flushing toilets sound like a great idea for those who aren’t ready to change bathroom habits, but want to stop wasting galleons of water daily. If you want a complete toilt you can look into purchasing one at a local hardware retailer. Or you can check out Aquanotion, a company out of Canada, to see some of their solutions that aren’t as expensive as replacing a complete toilet. They offer a two flush solution that will work with an existing toilet by using a kit to replace the inner workings of your tank. This kit once installed, and can usually be done by someone themselves, will give you the option of a low flow flush or a regular flush, depending on the need.

If you don’t wish to fiddle with the tank they also offer a tank designed to fit most toilet bowls sold in North America that already comes complete you just need to fit it onto your bowl. This would save time but still would require some minor installation to be done.

Of course know that we started to research toilets we saw electric composting toilets that mix everything for you, and can last up to a year before needing to be emptied. Then to top it off they don’t use harmful chemicals so the waste can then be introduced to your compost pile. We were almost in love till we saw the price tag the cheapest being $1,799 with a non electric coming in slightly cheaper at $1,399 (and no we didn’t put the comma in the wrong place). Still if you can afford it why not. We’ll be waiting for the price to come down or just admire it from a far.

So options have greatly increased in everyday appliances to make changes for positive in both our pocketbooks and our world. We just have to notice them that’s all.

This site and subject was suggested on the forum and we would like to thank seafury for the idea and letting us know about the website. If you have a suggestion for a story please drop us a line at the forum and mabe one day we’ll be able to feature it here.

There are a number of options for your waste water, the water that has been used in your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry. Some options would mean keeping this waste separate and dispose of in different ways, but the one stop solution and most common is a septic system. As this option is the common for those who cannot get city water or in older homes this is an option that is not unknown to the common person. Though if you are considering this you need to make sure that it is an option in some suburban and urban (not practical in most cases) areas. In our area it is hard if not impossible to get approved for a new septic system as our county wants everyone connected to our city water. Since it has one of the best treatment plants in the country it’s not as big an issues for us right now. They have made this push to get and keep our waterways cleaner.

There are four main components to a typical septic system:

1. A pipe to carry the waste from the home
2. The actual septic tank to start the digestion process
3. The drainfield to spread out the waste water
4. The soil with microbes to do the final filtering and cleaning of the water

The pipe carrys all the used (grey and black) water out of your home and into the working parts of the septic system.

A buried watertight container is the typical septic tank. These tanks can be made of concrete, fiberglass or polyethylene. The purpose of the tank is to hold the waste water long enough to allow solids to settle out (sludge) and oil and grease to float to the surface (scum). This allows for partial decomposition of the solid materials. To prevent the sludge and scum from leaving the tank and entering the drainfield, it is compartmentalized and has a T-shape outlet. Additional screens are recommended to make sure the solids do not make it into the drain field. On newer tanks risers with lids for easy location, inspection, and pumping of the tank.

When the wastewater has been process by the tank it exits the septic tank into a drainfield to complete it’s treatment by the soil. This wastewater is continually pushed into the drainfield every time new wastewater is introduced into the tank. Since drainfields can overload with too much liquid , flooding, and can cause sewage to come to the ground surface or create backups in your plumbing and prevent complete treatment of all watsewater. To prevent this having a reserve drainfield, as required by many states, also on your property is a good idea. This area should be cared for as well as you care for your primary drainfield.

The last part of your septic system is your soil. Soil is essential to removing contaminants from your wateswater before it is returned to your ground water. It contains microbes that are able to remove harmful bacteria, viruses, and nutrients from the wastewater. This is accomplished by the wasterwater percolating throughout the drainfield. Only suitable soil is able to do this so check with your installer or your local health department to see if you need an alternative to the final part of wastewater treatment. Another reason to look for alternative systems if to many typical systems are in one area or if your system will be to close to ground or surface water. New technology to improve the treatment process along with special care and maintenance could be used in alternative systems. Some systems use sand, peat, or plastic media to promote the treatment of the wastewater. Others can use wetlands, lagoons, aerators, or disinfection devices. Float switches, pumps, and other types of mechanical/electrical components are used often in these alternative systems.

Septic systems need to be inspected about every 3 years and pump out every 3 to 5 years. An alternative system may have additional needs or inspected/pumped more frequently. It is important and cheaper to maintain a septic system then to have to replace all or part of it due to mismanagement. Also failing and/or leaking septic systems can taint not only your but area ground water, be leached into streams, and have far reaching effects on your local environment.

pictures are curtosey of the EPA

…and enjoy it

Living off-grid you really appreciate the value of water. Here are some suggestions, and anyone reading this is free to suggest other tips in the comments below or the forum.

Drip irrigation

A happy accident and a leaky spigot led to the discovery of drip irrigation. In an orchard, a leaky spigot was drip, drip, dripping water at the base of a tree. Over time, the tree getting the steady drip of water was doing better than the surrounding trees. (more…)

Campers have known the benefit of solar water heating, but homeowners are just starting to see the benefits of letting the sun heat their water instead of paying the power company to do it for them. There are two different types of solar heating systems: passive, which doesn’t rely on circulating pumps and controls, and active, which does.

You will still need a well-insulated storage tank so don’t throw away your water heater just yet. You can opt to add a solar storage tank which has additional outlets and inlets that connect it to and from the collector to form a two-tank system. In which the solar water heater preheats the water making the amount of energy needed to heat the water to desired temperature much less. The other option is to go completely solar and get a solar tank that has a back up water heater in it. Since nights and cloudy days can have a significant effect on how much water is heated by the sun.

For us needing a residential system we have three options:

• Evacuated-tube solar collectors
  This system features parallel rows of transparent glass tubes. The tube is made of a glass outer tube with a metal absorber tube attached to a fin. This fin has a coating which absorbs solar energy nut stops radiative heat loss. Though this system is used more in commercial applications it is available for residential use also.
• Flat-plate collector
  For this system glazed flat-plate which are insulated are contained inside a weatherproof box. The box will have a dark absorber plate situated under one or more glass/plastic cover. There is also a unglazed flat-plate collector system that is typically found for heating pool water. This system also has a dark absorber plate, which can be made of metal or plastic, but it does not have a cover or enclosure.
• Integral collector-storage systems
  These can also be called a ICS or batch system, as they feature black tanks(s) or tubes in an insulated, glazed box. This is a two tank system as cold water will first past through the solar collector to preheat it then continue on to a conventional water heater. This system will always be a source of reliable hot water, though it can only be installed in climates that no to a mild-freeze because of the possibility of the outdoor pipes freezing or bursting in sever weather.

For those who want an active solar water heating system you can use one of two systems. The first is a direct circulation system which uses pumps to move the water through the collector and into the home. Once again only advised in mild climates because of the damage freezing can have on the outdoor parts of the system. The second is an indirect circulation system which uses an alternative non-freezing fluid through the collectors and then into a heat exchanger. Where the water is the heated before flowing into the home. This system is designed to withstand freezing temperatures so is ideal for sever cold winter areas.

Your solar water heating system can be as simple or as complex as you wish. As any camper knows you can hang water in a black bag and have a hot shower in after a few hours.

You need to make a list of what you truly want your system to accomplish, how you wish it done (by professionals or as a DIY), how much you wish to invest, and so on. Then do in-depth research for your area, talk to other who have a system, try it out on your pool (if you have one), then do it. You will be amazed at the difference it will make in your energy usage.