Water Power Engineering
Installations
OSSBERGER crossflow turbine (Pictured right) installed by Water Power Engineering on River Cam, near Bath, as stand alone power plant. 25 kW on 3.4 m head. Pictures above show during construction and finished installation.
Run-of-river Hydropower is commonplace throughout mainland Europe but it is rarely found in the UK.
as he takes delivery of his new waterwheel,
manufactured by Water Power Engineering.
Waterwheels are aesthetically pleasing and a joy to see and experience. They are however a different technology, more associated with slow revolving (high torque) machinery and not so well suited to driving high speed power generators, which is more easily achieved with a turbine.
They exchange one set of problems for another. They are not necessarily cheaper to construct or install, may well have a shorter life span, are more difficult to protect from a security point of view. The equipment (gearbox, bearings, generator etc) often has to operate in a more harsh environment, with water splashing everywhere. They are difficult to regulate or govern, present a significant hazard for vandals or others to become trapped in and often require more on site maintenance.