Pico hydro

Pico-hydro setups typically are run-of-stream, meaning that a reservoir of water is not created, only a small weir is common, pipes divert some of the flow, drop this down a gradient, and through the turbine before being exhausted back to the stream.

With a growing DIY-community and an increasing interest in environmentally friendly "green energy", some hobbyists have endeavored to build their own hydroelectric plants from old water mills, from kits, or from scratch.

[5][6] Through the internet, the community is now able to obtain plans to construct DIY-water turbines,[7][8][9] and there is a growing trend toward building them for domestic requirements.

The Five Gallon Bucket Hydroelectric Generator was the subject of a work group at the 2008 International Development Design Summit (IDDS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

While these machines rarely have optimum hydraulic characteristics when operated as turbines, their availability and low cost makes them attractive.

[21] The cost of wire resulted in North America using 120/240 VAC after DC voltage lost the war of the currents in the late 1800s.