Design and Optimization of Small Hydropower Systems in Water Distribution Networks Based on 10-Years Simulation with Epanet2

Microturbines at Drinking Water Tanks Fed by Gravity Pipelines: A Method and Excel Tool for Maximizing Annual Energy Generation Based on Historical Tank Outflow Data

“…There is a lack of decision support in accounting for future changes in water use patterns, which other design methods seem to have accounted for [14,39,40]. However, there is a simplified factor which can be adjusted to account for possible increases or decreases in water use.…”

“…The impact of iteratively varying the threshold tank levels (see Figure 6) to activate and deactivate the turbine and bypass has not been sufficiently assessed. Sitzenfrei and Rauch [14] presented an optimization method that is similar in spirit to the one presented by the authors but applied it to a class 2 site. They pursued an optimization approach by varying parameters in a randomized fashion through 1000 simulations (Monte Carlo simulation), selecting the best solution based on the amount of energy generated over 10 years.…”

“…Unintentionally, because the pipeline was chosen with a very generous factor of safety [14], or because demand in the supply zone is decreasing, due to declining population, increasing water use efficiency and/or cessation of commercial and industrial water use.…”

“…Sitzenfrei and Rauch [14] present a method using EPANET2 and MATLAB for determining turbine parameters at a non-conventional class 2 site in an alpine supply zone in Austria. Due to a surplus supply of natural spring water, a turbine is proposed at an outflow from the distribution network into a nearby watercourse, which serves to simultaneously generate useful energy while also flushing parts of the pipe network through increased flow rates.…”

“…Several papers mentioned here [13][14][15][16] and others not elaborated on [7,8,[17][18][19][20][21][22] present methods that might be useful for class 1 sites, but the effort required to successfully adapt the methods and restrictions imposed by technical understanding and software availability for the authors' intended user group speak against pursuing this further. For instance, since the authors set out to create a tool that is free to use and based on a common tool (i.e., Microsoft Excel), and MATLAB is a non-standard software requiring specialized knowledge, possible adaptation of such algorithms [14,16] was not considered. Furthermore, while some authors provide the basic underlying equations, the software in which the algorithms are implemented is not made accessible to the reader.…”