Alternative Energy Forums

Hi All!

This might sound stupid, but I was wondering if this makes any sense. Can you take an electric pump (say a 12VDC Shurflow model), connect it to the plumbing in your house just downstream from the water meter, and generate electricity from the pump motor every time you water the lawn, take a shower, etc.? If more head was needed than was being provided by the city water system, you could put a tank in the attic and use it as they do in apartment buildings to maintain water pressure.

It would seem to me to make sense, since basically a hydroelectric generator is just a water pump run backwards, right? I don’t know if you would get enough power to make it worthwhile - not sure if anyone has ever tried. But it would seem possible to produce electricity from everyday actions that way.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Peter

You could make power from waste water flowing down into the pipes, but it would not be worth the investment since the flow of water is temporary at best.

However, this idea is a great idea if you add together the flow of many houses, apartment buildings, or especially a building like a large hotel. Taken downstream, where all the waste water would be joining together, heading down to the sewer, or the sewer pipes itself, there should be enough flow to make a decent amount of power. Sewer water also has solids in it however, these would need to be sent to a bypass, filtered out somehow.

I wouldn’t want to clean off the water wheel either []

RP

The whole solids thing was the reason that I figured it made more sense to use the inlet water rather than the effluent (sewer) water. My thought was that the city/municipality had already arranged for the creation of head, so why not use it? It might not produce much power, per say, but if added to a home solar, wind, etc power system, it would be an additional source of power, and definitely seems to make sense to put it in a hotel or apartment building. Still a bit intermittent, but much more powerful flow.

Now, does using a motorized pump make sense to generate the power, or is it better to use a design dedicated generator?

Peter

Actually effluent can vary little more than storm water + raw.

The problem is less variable flow than material entrained in the flow. This material tends to jam and erode the turbine just like dirty water from a storm clogged stream. Just a little dirtier :lol:

Jess