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Engineering ToolBox > Hydropower
The calculator below can be used to calculate available hydroelectricity.
The theoretically power available from falling water can be expressed as
Pth = ρ q g h (1)
where
Pth = power theoretically available (W)
�ρ = density (kg/m3) (~ 1000 kg/m3 for water)
q = water flow (m3/s)
g = acceleration of gravity = 9.81 m/s2
h = falling height, head (m)
Due to energy loss the practically available power will be less than the theoretically power. Practically available power can be expressed as
P = 1000 μ q g h (2)
where
P = power available (W)
μ = efficiency (in general ranging from 0.75 to 0.95)
Equation (2) can be simplified to express practically available hydropower in kW to
�P ~ 10 μ q h (kW)