Hydrovolts’ proprietary turbines leverage the immense energy of moving water. In this inherently environmentally friendly design, the amount of energy available for capture is directly proportional to the turbine’s “water footprint”, or amount of water entering the device.
As depicted in the picture (right), Hydrovolts turbines are based on a horizontal rotational axis oriented perpendicular to the direction of water flow. This allows access to a much greater fraction of the canal cross-section than axis-parallel (pipe) or vertical-axis designs, and creates high efficiency without significantly affecting water flow. Furthermore, the design is:
- Submersible: A Hydrovolts turbine’s generators are attached to the unit, so that it can generate energy either floating on the water’s surface or submerged within the flow.
- Neutrally buoyant: The turbine’s buoyancy can be adjusted to generate power where the water velocity is greatest. Once adjusted, the turbine floats in place, and thus automatically tracks varying water levels.
- Safe: Unlike the sharp slash of a propeller, Hydrovolts turbines offer no sudden suction or sharp blades. Instead, Hydrovolts rotors spin with the water current, generating energy from the drag.
- Scalable: Turbines can be installed singly or in chains down the length of a canal. Turbine density, and therefore energy generation, is only determined by a canal’s speed and size.