This past summer we built a hydro-electric system in the brook behind our house. This system will allow us to double the energy we now harness with the photovoltaic cells. Pictured below is our hydro house on the left, this structure currently houses the turbine (right).

The beginning of this process found us battling 250 feet of 2" PVC piping as we struggled to bury it along the brook. Any way we wanted to go the piping wanted to go the opposite way, which actually made for quite an amusing afternoon. There was an old spring midway up the brook once used as a source for water that we dug up and reinserted. After digging the hole for the spring deeper and lining it with rocks we created a little pool that slows water flow around the spring. In the spring itself we drilled a plethora of small holes to allow a larger flow of water to enter the cylinder and then wrapped it in landscaping fabric that allows water in but keeps debris and sediment out. This was then buried again and connected to the PVC piping which ran down along the brook and connected to the hydro house and turbine as seen below.

Below: Pudge and I building the hydro house.

Mike's Roof - (below) Make no mistake while Michelle and I look like professional carpenters in the picture above,the wizard behind the veil, the man with whom we could not have done this without (left to Pudge and I the hydro-house may have been constructed of sticks and leaves) Mike Doran calculated the precise measurements needed and did an amazing framing job. Thanks Mike!

Ernie Borsellino Sr's Electric - (below) In the final stages of the project we brought in my father, a licensed electrician and wiz when it comes to anything having to do with building, wiring, home restoration, etc., you name it, he knows how to do it. We ran standard underground electrical wires to the crawlspace where the batteries are stored and connected them to the positive and negative nodules. We also ran another set of electrical wires to connect to the AC power to hook up lighting in the hydro house and on/off switches in both the hydro-house and our house. Thank dad!