Answering your FAQs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the price of Turbulent turbines?
*Based on a 4000 kWh average yearly energy consumption, for an on-grid project.
**Based on a 700 kWh average yearly energy consumption, for an off-grid project.
How can I know if my river is suitable for thr Turbulent turbine?
Please have a look at our easy hydropower manual here. If you have these values, you can easily compare them with our product range to see if it is possible.
You can also watch our YouTube video here to see good examples of drops and flows.
Would it be possible in the future to have a closed-circuit created inside the system so that there’s always power cycling?
Sorry, but this is not possible. It goes against the laws of physics and is called a perpetuum mobile.
Does the Turbulent turbine turn the other direction on the different hemispheres?
No, Coriolis force is negligible. For more information, watch this explanatory video.
Are the Turbulent turbines useful as emergency generators during power outages?
Due to grid regulations, the generator must disconnect when there is a power outage. This is to protect workers. Although it is not impossible to continue generating energy during a power outage, we do not provide this feature by default yet. We are available to look for the custom solution you need.
Can I store energy for when there is no water?
We do not yet natively integrate energy storage in our system. If desired, a home backup battery system can be installed.
What happens if there is no water flow in winter?
For those places where the temperature is freezing, our turbines will keep working as long as the water flows. Our turbines are adapted with thick rubber coating that can shake off the ice (similar to the turbine cones of Boeing but made specially for low rpm). Once the river is frozen, the turbine will stop. No damage will happen to the turbine because of freezing temperatures.
Can I install a Turbulent turbine if I already have solar panels?
Yes, you can use a hydro turbine together with solar panels or wind turbines without much trouble. Depending on the installed power, we might have to ask your distributor to reinforce your connection to support the additional energy.
Can Turbulent turbines be used independently from the mains or off-grid?
Yes, our turbines can be fitted for off-grid usage. We recommend however to opt for a connected system if you have one available. This way your excess energy is sold, leading to a faster return on your investment.
Does the Turbulent turbine also work on single-phase connections?
This depends on your country’s standards. Generally, up to 5kW can be installed with a single-phase connection. Above this power, it is usually obligatory to use a three phase connection. In most locations, single-phase connections can be changed into three-phase connections quite easily.
Which voltages and frequencies do the Turbulent turbines support?
We can fit our turbines to work with any electricity distribution standard in your country. Our operating voltages range from 200V to 480V and both 50Hz and 60Hz systems are supported.
Is there a flood risk?
No dam means no flood risk related to the installation. Your stream will behave in the same way, as if untouched, structure unchanged.
Is the water flow impeded by the Turbulent turbine?
No, this is one of the key features of our technology. Water circulates for a few seconds in the plant before moving downstream. Therefore, no impact at all on your flow or the flow of your neighbours.
What's the efficiency of the Turbulent turbine?
The total efficiency of a Turbulent turbine is 60%. This means the Turbulent turbines can transform 60% of the energy that is in the water into electricity.
Is the Turbulent turbine debris-tolerant? How does Turbulent solve the debris problem?
We designed this turbine to be debris tolerant. It is a slow turning turbine (+-100 rpm) with a major spacing between the blades. Our rotor is designed with a leading edge Naca profile Leading Edge that creates a pressure distribution ahead of this edge. This guides the debris and fish past the blade without getting entangled.
Is the Turbulent turbine a fixed pitch propeller?
The newest design of our propeller allows for the pitch to be modified. This can easily happen with a single screw to adapt the turbine to big flow fluctuations (winter/summer flow for example) as well as to achieve fine-tuning based on the average yearly flows to optimize your ROI.
Could you send me a more detailed technical document?
Sure, you can download our technical brochure here.
What is included in the whole product set other than the Turbulent turbine and generator?
How long is the product warranty?
The warranty is for 1 year by which time all possible defects will be shown. After this first year, your main cost will be maintenance and planned repairs, as quantified under our operational expenditures. The rotor itself can last 5 years and the generator is rated for 15 years. All in all, the large structure such as the basin can last for up to 50 years.
How much maintenance is required for the Turbulent turbine and who takes care of it?
How fast can a Turbulent project be set up?
Between 2 to 5 months after signing the contract and partial payment, we will have the core unit ready to ship. The building of the civil works will take on average 2 to 4 weeks, and the installation of the core unit including commissioning will take up to 2 weeks. This means in the best case, a project can be up and running in as little as 3 months.
How much revenue can a Turbulent turbine generate?
The advantage of hydropower is it runs 24h a day, 7 days a week. If you want to calculate your revenue, take the amount of power you can install, multiply it by 7500 and your electricity price, and you get your revenue.
Micro-hydro projects have incorporated agro-processing facilities such as rice mills—alongside standard electrification—into the project design. Can you run similar machinery supporting small businesses?
This is actually a very smart way to use the excess energy that you are producing. Considering that our turbine is turning at a very low speed but with very high torque this makes it possible to power agricultural equipment as well as small industry machines without any problem. Our turbine is perfectly suited to do this because it is so easy to manufacture.
Why is the Turbulent turbine better than other sources of renewable energy?
Who are the competitors and how are Turbulent turbines different?
Most hydro power technology providers are focusing on the highest possible efficiency, but forget to design for robustness and a low maintenance design. All of these technologies require expert knowledge to maintain and repair them.
Turbulent vortex turbines are designed with our end-users in mind. They are simple to maintain, simple to repair and require no expert knowledge whatsoever, to keep them going.
What is the scalability of these units? Can it be used for bigger cities or mainly rural areas? Is it possible to build larger/bigger units/projects to increase the power?
The Turbulent turbine units are scalable in size to 100kW. By increasing our 15kW to a 100kW, the increase in power follows an exponential growth. By installing more Turbulent turbines in parallel and series along the length of the river you can increase the power output and reach MW projects that can power entire cities. The benefit is that you can cascade the turbines and produce the energy close to communities to limit distribution losses. Our decentralized approach also allows you to use standard series-produced turbines that are being manufactured at a lower cost.
Is there a length limit for the power line (the distance from the power source to the site in need of energy)?
The limit of cabling is around 1 km for a 15kW turbine, because of the cost of cabling. For larger projects, we can provide a transformer to go through higher voltages which allows longer distances of up to 30 kilometres.
Why do Turbulent turbines need a constant flow?
A constant flow with low fluctuations (within 40% of the design flow) will generate a constant output power. If your stream has significant flow variations, the output power will also be affected by these fluctuations.
