Hydro Water Wheel - How it was made.
The largest water wheel electrical generator in Europe and the cutting edge of rural innovation blending in harmony with the beautiful countryside.
Building the project
Building the project
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Water Wheel Specifications and Galvanization
The water wheel itself has a diameter of 9.0 meters and a width of 1.2 meters, weighing just over 10 tonnes, including its spokes, buckets, rims, and hub. This makes it the largest diameter electric-generating water wheel in Europe, surpassing the Aberdulais Wheel in Port Talbot, Wales, which has an 8.2-meter diameter and is located at a National Trust site. The Aberdulais Wheel, a 400-year-old historic water wheel, was refurbished and featured on BBC’s Countryfile in 1991. Although the Aberdulais Wheel benefits from a large water flow, our wheel will generate more electricity per day during peak flow.
Our water wheel has been galvanized to prevent rusting and deterioration. While manufacturing it from stainless steel would have been prohibitively expensive, and painting would have posed maintenance challenges, galvanization provides a practical solution. Despite the wheel gradually becoming covered in algae and blending further into its surroundings, galvanization will help extend its lifespan.
Launder Installation and Electrical Conversion
After the water wheel was installed on new, large bearings using a massive crane in the summer of 2023, the launder—a pipe that feeds water to the top of the wheel—could be manufactured and installed. Our wheel is a backshot design, meaning water enters the wheel at the top and turns the wheel backwards toward the head race. This design allows for quicker and less turbulent water evacuation from the wheel pit, enhancing efficiency.
The launder, a large galvanized steel pipeline, meets the lake with a forebay equipped with a fish screen to prevent fish from entering the wheel. It passes through the lake bank and is elevated above the water wheel by large steel stanchions.
To convert the wheel’s rotational movement into electricity, a key factor is the torque generated by the wheel. This torque drives a generator. Since the wheel turns at a relatively slow 4.5 rpm (revolutions per minute) and a generator requires 1200 to 1800 rpm, a large planetary gearbox was essential. This gearbox multiplies the wheel’s shaft input from 4.5 rpm to over 500 rpm, with additional gearing achieved through pulleys and a toothed belt drive.
Our hydro system can produce more than 3.68 kW per phase (it is a 3-phase system) and export power back to the main grid, falling under strict G99 regulations. Ensuring stable and compliant grid connection is complex, handled entirely by computer. Given the rarity and bespoke nature of water wheel systems, finding specialized controls was challenging. Fortunately, Sustainable Control Systems and Nigel Smith designed and built the necessary control system. This system operates automatically, allows remote observation and control, and adjusts an electronically controlled sluice gate to optimize power generation by managing water flow and lake water levels.
The entire drive train—from the bespoke flexible coupling connecting the wheel shaft to the gearbox, through the gearbox itself, to the belt and pulley system for the generator—along with the electrics, control boxes, and computer system, is housed in a plant room built adjacent to the water wheel. The plant room is integrated into the side of the lake bank with reinforced retaining walls, making three sides effectively underground. Access and maintenance are facilitated through a front door, and the room features a slate roof to blend with its surroundings.
Traditional black wrought iron estate railing surrounds the water wheel to a safe height, preventing falls into the wheel pit and protecting against accidental injuries.
