ABSTRACT
A turbine/generator set, to produce energy in DC mode has been developed, which is called Pico hydrogenerator (PHG-DC). The PHG-DC is intenteded to provide energy for illumination, radio, TV, small water pump and battery recharging. The operation of the PHG-DC consists of striking a jet of water over the buckets of the turbine, causing the wheel to spin. The hydraulic energy of the jet of water is then converted into mechanical energy of the shaft that is transferred to generator by belt and is converted in electrical energy. The rural electrical energy brings comfort, information, education and improvement of agricultural production. On the other hand, rural electrification has very small profitability because it requires large amount investments in the distribution network, even for small loads. The performance curves of Turgo turbine show high efficiency, between 80% and 90%, at different flows and loads. This is important if turbine is going to be used with changing loads, as case rural areas.
