Eco Island

[Eco Island]

Hello everyone..
I'm new to this forum.I'm thinking about dropping out of the rat race.
I have found a small island in the middle of the river and I am thinking about building a cabin.I was thinking about a wind mill for power.But the river has a pretty strong current,so I started thinking about a water wheel.But I am now thinking more about just a fan blade in the water.The water current would turn the fan blade witch would create electrical current?I really have no name for this type of alternative power system...
Is there a term for it?other than crazy...

[Timberwolf]

Do a google seach for Micro Hydro

[StressMan79]

oh, and the hydro will be much better than the wind or solar. It is more dependable and always on, so you will need fewer batteries, the generator will be cheaper than the same solar array. and while I am a fan of multiple systems, using multiple systems to charge batteries is much more difficult. Voltages will differ and so you usually need two separate charge controllers... if the flow is always strong, then I'd just rely on that for my power.

-Peter

[loghousenut]

A fan blade in the river won't do much. You'll be investigating "low head" hydro unless you have legal access to water with a lot of elevation loss. Speaking of legal access, you'll need that for the river too. Don't rule out windpower. The airflow up and down a river canyon can be quite dependable.

[rreidnauer]

Yup, it'll take a little more creativity than just a fan blade, but you can make good use of even low velocity river currents. You'll need think about a much bigger wheel. It doesn't have to be vertical either. It could be laying almost horizontal, with one side dipped into the current. If you generated enough torque on a large slow turning wheel, you can easily gear it up to a higher speed output for your generator. Like Stressman says, it's the way to go because it's 24/7 power.

[slrrls]

this group may be able to enlighten you on the matter.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/microhydro/