The Romans also had water-powered mills and the Arabs built dams. Later, water power was used mainly to drive hammer mills and to transport felled trees down into the valleys. Finally, in the 19th century, the booming industry started used water turbines.
For almost 100 years, water energy was used primarily fort he generation of electricity - today, about one fifth of the electricity generated worldwide is produced from water power. The conversion of kinetic energy into electricity is always based on the same principles. The water in a flowing river, or water falling from a great height through pipes, causes a turbine to rotate. The turbine drives a generator which converts the rotational energy into electricity. The amount of electricity generated depends on the amount of water flowing through the turbine "head" (the height from which the water falls).
Schmalz has been using water power since the company was established in 1910 (and the turbine was first mentioned in 1851). After the decision last year to reactivate the direct-flow turbine, which was shut down in 2001, work was soon started. The turbine was overhauled and integrated into the new turbine building near the River Glatt. With a volume flow of 780 l/s, a head of 4.85 m and an output of about 150,000 kW/h per year (at a rate power of 36 kW) , this turbine will reduce the CO2 emissions at Schmalz by 124 tonnes per year, equivalent to the emissions produced by a car driving about 824,000 km. The electricity generated by the turbine has been fed into the company network since 5 January 2008.
A further component of the water turbine system is a large rainwater reservoir which captures rainwater and allows it to flow slowly through the water turbine into the River Glatt. With this reservoir, Schmalz is compensating for the necessary sealing of natural ground for the expansion of factory buildings planned for this year. In addition to the rainwater reservoir, the company has also created a large biotope with an area of about 3,500 square metres, including a fish ladder beside the weir. This biotope can be used by all members of the staff for rest and recuperation, and is also open to the general public as part of the Schmalz Ecological Guided Tour.
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