How to Make Electricity With Water

Water is a source of tremendous energy. Water moves downhill in rivers or follows the tug of the moon with ocean currents, creating kinetic energy that can be harnessed. When this kinetic energy is turned into electricity, it is called hydroelectric power.

Things You'll Need

• Turbine
• Propeller
• Paddle wheel
• Generator

Instructions

1. Learn about potential energy. Potential energy is any sort of stored energy in a system. If water is at a higher elevation, for example, it has potential energy. When it flows downhill, the potential energy turns into motion or kinetic energy. Hydroelectric energy---energy that uses water as its source---harnesses that kinetic energy.

2. Learn to recognize bad water science. Water is at a low energy state---it can't be burned like wood or coal to produce energy. There are things that react violently with water such as elemental sodium, but water itself cannot be turned into energy. The best one can do is use moving water as a source of potential energy. Some con artists try to market water as a miracle energy source, but it isn't. See the link about "Running a Car on Water" in Resources for an explanation of one of the more common water scams.

3. Find a source of water energy. A stream, a rain gutter or anywhere else water flows freely can be used. Although a huge amount of potential energy is available in the ocean tides, it requires a lot of heavy equipment to mount turbines in the ocean, so this method is not recommended for hobbyists.

4. Get some type of propeller, paddle wheel or turbine. Anything that turns on an axle as water moves past it will work to generate electricity with water.

5. Attach your propeller, turbine a paddle wheel to a small electric generator. Your generator needs to be small so that it can be driven by the energy in a small stream or drain pipe. See the link in Resources for more information on how to make an electric generator.

6. Mount the propeller in the water source without getting the generator wet. Attach the generator to a lightbulb, or whatever else you want to power.

Resources

• About Running a Car on Water
• How to Make an Electric Generator
• How Hydroelectric Power Works