The easiest way to reduce electrical losses between the generator and your build sites is to use high voltage AC. This also allows for smaller gauge wires, because the current is minimized. Use a regulated AC generator on the hydro, send it through a transformer to up the voltage and then use another transformer at the house to drop the voltage to 220 or 110 as needed. The beauty of using HV is that the power (Volt-Amps), is higher with less current, reducing the effect of resistive line losses. Furthermore, AC has inherently less line loss than does DC. (For more on that, refer to the Tesla vs Edison battle of the 1880s and 1890s.) Just be very careful with it, because electricity can kill. (Avoid high amperage lines, they are much more deadly than high voltage lines.) BTW, at 5kV, 0.11A delivers the same amount of power as 5 Amps at 110V. If your line from your generator has a resistance of 1 ohm per 100 feet, and you have 500 ft of line, at 5 amps, your loss will be (5 ohm)*(5 Amp)^2 = 125 Watts, whereas, on the same line, if you run it at 5kV, your loss will be (5 ohm)*(0.11 Amp)^2 = 0.0605 Watts. This is why they run million volt HV lines from commercial power generators. However, if you plan to use HV, you will need to keep it very well insulated to avoid shorting.
Steve
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