Hi – I would welcome suggestions on this project. I’ve been living in Thailand for 8 years, managing an on-grid resort. Now I’m moving to Laos and plan to build an eco-friendly resort, (with encouragement from the Lao government, since they are very keen for tourist projects.
So here’s the detail. The location does have a single phase on-grid supply, but the amperage is probably about enough to power a lightbulb, and it is very unreliable.
Laos is hot and humid, with little wind, and I need to keep my guestrooms cool, as well as power fridges etc.
What natural power sources do I have? There are 2 primary sources that I could use:
1 – Solar, using solar water heaters mounted on the building roofs to provide warm/hot water in the showers.
Is there any other practical use that I can make of this solar power?
2 – Hydro, the resort sits next to a sizeable, fast-flowing river whose depth does vary according to the season, but which never dries up (it always has maybe 3 meters of depth). I’m thinking that there must be ways to harness the huge force of this water, in order to benefit the resort.
I welcome ideas and suggestions, and questions of course
Thanks
Simon