Development of a Hydroelectric Mobile Phone Charger

INTRODUCTION

In the current trend, mobile phone has become a most ubiquitous of consumer-

electronic devices in people’s daily lives. It plays an important role in communication.

However, difficulties of charging mobile phone are a big problem especially while

travelling since power supply source is not generally accessible. Although there is some

advanced technology of mobile phone, still the battery cannot meet the demand in

increasing power due to quickly increasing functionalities of the mobile phone. In this

problem, a common temporarily solution may be a to use a typical power bank which

doesn’t last longer and need to be charged again. Moreover, harvesting renewable energy

from the environment is highly recommendable.

Renewable energy or also called “green energy” and “clean energy”, is energy

from sources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited. Some resources of renewable

of energy are solar, wind, wave, geothermal, hydropower and biomass. Hydroelectricity

is the electricity made by generators that are enabled by the movement of water. One

example of this is a reservoir or water dam where large volumes of falling water creates

mechanical energy. For making small amounts of electricity without building a dam, a

small-scale hydroelectric generator is often the best solution, especially where fast-flowing

streams on steep slopes are close by. A small-scale hydro system usually consists of an

enclosed water wheel or turbine, which is made to spin by jets of high velocity water.

The water wheel is an ancient device that uses flowing or falling water to create

power by means of paddles mounted around a wheel. The force of the water moves the
paddles, and the consequent rotation of the wheel is transmitted to machinery via the shaft

of the wheel. Creating a smaller version of a water wheel can be used to charge mobile

phones and light LEDs by using a DC motor.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general objective of this study was to find alternative way in charging mobile phones

if the power supply is not accessible.

Specifically, this study aimed to:

1. Design a project that can generate power supply involving energy

conversion.

2. Use renewable energy as a power supply to reduce negative environmental

and human effects.

3. Design and construct a cost-efficient project.

4. Charge a mobile phone through the hydroelectricity.

RELATED STUDIES

Hydroelectric Energy

Hydroelectric power is derived from harnessing the power released when water

passes through a vertical distance usually referred to as the 'head'. Hydropower has its

origins in the pre-industrial revolution technology of water wheels and is simple in concept.

The power generated is proportional to the product of flow and head. Projects in

mountainous terrain typically run under a high head, perhaps over 1000 meters, which for
a given output requires a small flow of water. Projects on large flat rivers, on the other

hand, are arranged to pass a large flow of water through a small head of a few meters.

The basic principle is that two reservoirs are formed, one at a higher level. When

water flows from the upper to lower reservoir power is generated by the turbines. When

there is spare generating capacity on the system water can be pumped, sometimes simply

by reversing the turbines, from the lower reservoir. Pumped storage schemes are the only

practicable means of storing electrical energy in commercial amounts (Sims, 1991).

Water Wheel

A waterwheel is a type of device that takes advantage of flowing or falling water to

generate power by using a set of paddles mounted around a wheel. The falling force of the

water pushes the paddles, rotating a wheel. This rotation of a wheel can be transmitted to

a variety of machines through a shaft at the center of the wheel. These wheels are generally

large and composed of wood or metal with many blades or buckets along the edge of the

wheel to capture the power of the moving water.

Waterwheels are usually positioned vertically over a water source. This means that

the axle is positioned horizontally. This axle transfers the energy from the falling water to

a drive belt or a system of gears that then operates some sort of machine. These wheels

require some source of falling or flowing water, and these sources can include streams or

rivers. Sometimes special ponds known as mill ponds were created by damming a flowing

stream. This creates a special channel known as a mill race from the pond to the waterwheel

(Cey, et. Al., n.d.).

 Although waterwheels are not used widely today, hydroelectric dams function on

the same basic principle of using the power of flowing water to move machines known as

turbines.

METHODOLOGY

This section provides the important specifications of the materials that are used in

the design project and the different steps that followed for the creation of the whole system.

Materials

DC Motor. A 12V, 60 RPM DC motor will be used to generate electricity for the

device. It will be connected to shaft that will be rotated by the water wheel.

Boost Converter. Used in many instances from providing small supplies where

higher voltages may be needed to much higher power requirements.

Old Roller Paint Brush. The base of an old roller paint brush will be used in the

device. It will serve as the shaft that the water wheel will rotate to generate electricity from

the DC motor.

Plastic Bottles. Plastic bottles will be used on the water wheel which will serve as

the blades of the turbine.

Popsicle Sticks. The sticks will be used to connect the plastic bottles to the shaft.

Connecting Wires. Connecting wires will be used to make the connection between

the DC motor, voltage regulator, and USB cable.

 USB Cable. A male to female USB cable will be used to connect the USB cable of

the phone to the generator for charging.

In making the circuit for the generator, the DC motor is connected to a capacitor

and boost converter. The motor is attached to the shaft that holds the water wheel. The

water wheel is created by using recycled plastic bottles which will serve as the blades of

the turbine. Only the bottom of the plastic bottles is used. These are then connected to the

base of the roller paint brush using popsicle sticks.

Figure 2- CIRCUIT Figure 1- WATER WHEEL

DISCUSSION

In this project, we created a miniature of a water wheel to create a hydroelectric

mobile phone charger. We used recycled plastic bottles, old paint roller brush, wood scraps,

popsicle sticks, and pvc pipe for the water wheel. For the circuit, we used a 12V DC geared

motor, capacitor, and a boost converter. The device was tested using three different sources

of water- water directly from the faucet, using a hose connected to the faucet, and using a

garden hose with a spray nozzle. We were able to generate electricity using the three

different sources but only through the use of hose and a spray nozzle we were able to charge

a phone.

CONCLUSION

Through this project, we were able to demonstrate energy conversion using

hydroelectricity. Upon testing the water wheel, we therefore conclude that the pressure of

the flowing water is an important factor in charging a mobile phone. The higher the

pressure of the water, the faster the water wheel will rotate, and therefore generate higher

voltage to charge the mobile phone. We were able to do this by connecting a hose in the

faucet.
FINAL OUTPUT
COST COMPUTATION

Materials Estimated Cost

12V DC Motor ₱500

Boost Converter ₱95

Capacitor ₱30

Plastic Bottles ---

Connecting Wires ---

Miscellaneous ₱60

TOTAL ₱685.00

The total estimated cost for this project is ₱685.00