Development on Micro Hydro Power Generator Design Using Rainwater

Abstract

Earth’s resources such as fossil fuels, coal and natural gas are used to generate electricity. As times goes by, those resources become limited. As an alternative way, renewable energy is used to generate electricity. Water or hydro energy is one of the clean and renewable energy which can be used repeatedly. The water can be converted into electricity by using water energy conversion system. Where the conversion process uses water to drive turbine which produced mechanical power thus, generate electrical energy from a generator. Since the renewable energy consumption is constantly improving, thus the electrical cost can be reduced. This is because; the price of local electrical supply is expected to soar time to time. Furthermore, the water energy is the clean energy. It has low carbon emissions, therefore the water energy is considered as green and environment friendly. However, the output will be varies based on the heaviness of the rain since our country, Malaysia has two seasons; dry and raining season. Micro hydropower generator can generate less than 100kW of power. The purpose of this project is the development of micro hydropower generator using rainwater for domestic usage. Basically, rainwater is used as a prime mover of water energy. Firstly, the rainwater will be stored in a tank before flowing into the turbine. Then, the turbine will rotate and the electricity will be generated. The recycle water from the turbine will be flowing back into the tank. So, the water could be reused. The AC voltage and current generated by the generator is converted to DC to suits the loads.