10/26/2020 Hydropower

Hydropower
Water - power potential, head and flow rate
Online Hydro-power Calculator
The calculator below can be used to calculate available hydroelectricity power .

1000 density (kg/m3)

0.9 efficiency

0.24 volume flow (m3/s)

80 head (m)

Calculate!

The theoretically power available from falling water can be expressed as

Pth = ρ q g h (1)

where

Pth = power theoretically available (W)

ρ = density (kg/m3) (~ 1000 kg/m3 for water)

q = water flow (m3/s)

g = acceleration of gravity (9.81 m/s2)

h = falling height, head (m)

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Example - Hydro-power
The theoretically power available from a flow of 1 m3/s water with a fall of 100 m can be calculated as

P = (1000 kg/m3) (1 m3/s) (9.81 m/s2) (100 m)

= 981 000 W

= 981 kW

Efficiency
Due to energy loss the practically available power will be less than the theoretically power. Practically
available power can be expressed as

Pa = μ ρ q g h (2)

where

Pa = power available (W)

μ = efficiency (in general in the range 0.75 to 0.95)

Energy from Hydro-power

The potential theoretical energy in a volume of elevated water can be calculated

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W=mgh

=ρVgh (3)

where

W = energy (J)

m = mass of water (kg)

V = volume of water (m3)

Example - Energy in Elevated Water Volume

10 m3 volume of water is elevated 10 m above the turbine. The potential energy in the water volume
can be calculated as

W = (1000 kg/m3) (10 m3) (9.81 m/s2) (10 m)

= 981000 J (Ws)

= 981 kJ (kWs)

= 0.27 kWh

Potential Energy in a Tank or Reservoir

You can estimate the total energy in a tank or a reservoir where the surface area varies with elevation
- as typical in a natural reservoir - by integrating the potential energies for horizontal segments as
done in the template
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Potential Energy Stored in a Tank or Reservoir

Copy the document to your Google Drive or download it as a spreadsheet to make your own
calculations.

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Environment - Climate, meteorology, sun, wind and environmental resources

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Heat, Work and Energy - Heat, work and energy tutorial - essentials as specific heat
Mechanical Energy and Bernoulli Equation - The mechanical energy equation related to
energy per unit mass, energy per unit volume and energy per unit weight involving head
Potential Energy - Hydropower - elevation and potential energy
Pumping Water - Required Horsepower - Horsepower required to pump water
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- and how to convert to other units
Static Pressure vs. Head in Fluids - Static pressure and pressure head in fluids

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