Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Genius of Bladeless Vortex Hydropower. Click here eightsleep.com/mattferrell to improve your sleep fitness with Eight Sleep and use my code MATT to get $200 off! Hydropower is a great source of energy that doesn’t suffer the same intermittency problems as other renewables. But dams fail. A lot. About 95% of the existing hydropower systems in the States were built before 1995, and over half operate using equipment designed over 80 years ago. This aging infrastructure can be not only unreliable, but dangerous to local populations, human and animal alike. That said, hydropower doesn’t always have to be postcard-perfect or 67 stories high. It actually has a lot of room for growth…possibly by shrinking. That’s because small hydropower (or SHP) has the potential to literally usher in a new generation.
Several companies are working toward integrating hydroelectric turbines on a smaller scale and with a smaller ecological footprint. Between new designs like Vortex Hydrokinetics’ bladeless turbine and Turbulent’s snail-shaped “fish-friendly” system (say that 10 times fast), there’s plenty of opportunity to take advantage of rivers without having to worry about the safety of ourselves or our scaly friends.
Corrections:
3:28 - We made a mistake between the calculation and the final script. It’s 500,000,000x more than the average faucet.
Check out Ryan’s video on Ziroth about bladeless hydro turbines: youtu.be/ArQE3SB0kyM?si=gV5rrASKMj7AW0_c
Watch Have we been doing Solar wrong all along? youtu.be/LqizLQDi9BM?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi4dFnLD9622FK77atWtQVv7
Video script and citations:
https://undecided.tech/the-genius-of-small-hydro-turbines/
Get my achieve energy security with solar guide:
undecided.link/solar-guide
Follow-up podcast:
Video version - youtube.com/channel/UC4-aWB84Bupf5hxGqrwYqLA
Audio version - undecided.link/stilltbd-podcast
Join the Undecided Discord server:
undecided.link/discord
👋 Support Undecided on Patreon!
patreon.com/mattferrell
⚙️ Gear & Products I Like
https://undecided.tech/shop/
Visit my Energysage Portal (US):
Research solar panels, heat pumps, and more to get quotes for free!
undecided.link/energysage
For a curated solar buying experience (Canada)
EnergyPal's free personalized quotes:
undecided.link/energypal
Tesla Referral Code:
Get 1,000 free supercharging miles
or a discount on Tesla Solar & Powerwalls
https://ts.la/matthew84515
👉 Follow Me
Mastodon
https://mastodon.social/@mattferrell
Mastodon
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Website
https://undecided.tech
Some music provided by Epidemic Sound
undecided.link/epidemic
I may earn a small commission for my endorsement or recommendation to products or services linked above, but I wouldn't put them here if I didn't like them. Your purchase helps support the channel and the videos I produce. Thank you.
The Genius of Bladeless Vortex Hydropower. Click here eightsleep.com/mattferrell to improve your sleep fitness with Eight Sleep and use my code MATT to get $200 off! Hydropower is a great source of energy that doesn’t suffer the same intermittency problems as other renewables. But dams fail. A lot. About 95% of the existing hydropower systems in the States were built before 1995, and over half operate using equipment designed over 80 years ago. This aging infrastructure can be not only unreliable, but dangerous to local populations, human and animal alike. That said, hydropower doesn’t always have to be postcard-perfect or 67 stories high. It actually has a lot of room for growth…possibly by shrinking. That’s because small hydropower (or SHP) has the potential to literally usher in a new generation.
Several companies are working toward integrating hydroelectric turbines on a smaller scale and with a smaller ecological footprint. Between new designs like Vortex Hydrokinetics’ bladeless turbine and Turbulent’s snail-shaped “fish-friendly” system (say that 10 times fast), there’s plenty of opportunity to take advantage of rivers without having to worry about the safety of ourselves or our scaly friends.
Corrections:
3:28 - We made a mistake between the calculation and the final script. It’s 500,000,000x more than the average faucet.
Check out Ryan’s video on Ziroth about bladeless hydro turbines: youtu.be/ArQE3SB0kyM?si=gV5rrASKMj7AW0_c
Watch Have we been doing Solar wrong all along? youtu.be/LqizLQDi9BM?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi4dFnLD9622FK77atWtQVv7
Video script and citations:
https://undecided.tech/the-genius-of-small-hydro-turbines/
Get my achieve energy security with solar guide:
undecided.link/solar-guide
Follow-up podcast:
Video version - youtube.com/channel/UC4-aWB84Bupf5hxGqrwYqLA
Audio version - undecided.link/stilltbd-podcast
Join the Undecided Discord server:
undecided.link/discord
👋 Support Undecided on Patreon!
patreon.com/mattferrell
⚙️ Gear & Products I Like
https://undecided.tech/shop/
Visit my Energysage Portal (US):
Research solar panels, heat pumps, and more to get quotes for free!
undecided.link/energysage
For a curated solar buying experience (Canada)
EnergyPal's free personalized quotes:
undecided.link/energypal
Tesla Referral Code:
Get 1,000 free supercharging miles
or a discount on Tesla Solar & Powerwalls
https://ts.la/matthew84515
👉 Follow Me
Mastodon
https://mastodon.social/@mattferrell
Mastodon
https://mastodon.social/@mattferrell
instagram.com/undecidedtech
Website
https://undecided.tech
Some music provided by Epidemic Sound
undecided.link/epidemic
I may earn a small commission for my endorsement or recommendation to products or services linked above, but I wouldn't put them here if I didn't like them. Your purchase helps support the channel and the videos I produce. Thank you.
