The main tank, brimful with ideas. Enjoy them, discuss them, take them. - Of course, this is also the #1 place for new submissions!
By WSparrow23
#15595
A friend of mine tried this a couple years ago and it worked quite well. Living in British Columbia we get rain just about every day for six months out of the year. The problem came in january when an ice storm hit and it tore itself apart. There are however, a number of people that have installed turbines in the drains of their sinks and bathtubs/showers. It's not enough to run your house, but it helps. :)
By theNay
#15686
I live in NW Washington- similar rain frequency as B.C. - I was thinking it could be a good way to power some outdoor accent lights. the drain pipe idea is awesome! as for the big freeze issue- i guess that is an imporatant design consideration, and perhaps the power generated could be stored to run some heat- or some solar heating could be incorporated to help. those big freeeze days in these parts are typically the sunniest days of the winter. this is an awesome website- and now that I have dropped out of school, I'll have more time to use what knowledge I did gain from school to pursue some of these ideas- with the help of the virtual think tank.
By Bob Hernacki
#19010
I live in the Pacific NW - Seattle area. AKA Evergreen state. Much rain required to keep it ever green.
Solar gadgets don't work well in the winter when you need them most. Small hydro power as discussed in this forum sounds like a winner.
Particularly the idea of putting turbines in storm drains.

The pacific coast - particularly N. of Seattle - into British Columbia - is RICH with waterways with huge potential to generate power from currents caused by the tides. These currents are as reliable as any fast moving river. Anybody out there know why these havent been exploited yet ?

Bob
By YouSee
#21520
Just reading through the posts for this concept. There were a lot of good ideas and a few participants that appeared to be moving ahead with some trials. Has anyone implemented any of these ideas? I'd be curious to hear of the results. Any thoughts on capturing the energy from the water coming up through an artesian well?

Cheers!
By bushymustasch
#22338
YouSee wrote:Just reading through the posts for this concept. There were a lot of good ideas and a few participants that appeared to be moving ahead with some trials. Has anyone implemented any of these ideas? I'd be curious to hear of the results. Any thoughts on capturing the energy from the water coming up through an artesian well?

Cheers!
I just watched a news story in Sacramento, CA. about a teen science fair at a local H.S. and they interviewed a 15 yr. old boy who constructed a "tree" with broad leaves with solar cells on top; the leave moved in the wind which generated power too and he also had these small watermills installed in clear rain gutter parts so it was easy to monitor them. Some areas of the No. West have constant rain you see. His vision was a total energy package for each house consisting of solar on roof, fake trees and water mills too; all storing power in your battery array under your deck or in your shed. Add a small wind turbine system to the roof and you have constant power generation. I love this as I could use it all.
I can see designing watermills that are round like a softball and fit in a round downspout section that snaps into your existing downspout pipe, especially usefull in a two story home.
By Manic1
#22411
Actually, this could be used along with a solar system to provide some power when it is raining and the solar cells would not be putting out much. Also would provide some power at night when it rains. In the south there are frequently heavy downpours and I have seen the force of the water from my downspouts - pretty strong! The leaves and pine needles might be a problem tho....
Good Idea!
;D
By majenko
#23598
Here's a radical idea.

How's about covering the entire roof with piezo electric sensors? you know the kind of things - the little brass/ceramic disks you get in buzzers. You hit those, and a small electric current is generated. They're used in electronic drum kits to measure the impact of the drumstick on the rubber surface.

Get enough of those on a roof, and as the raindrops strike them an electric charge is generated.

Maybe not enough charge to do anything useful with, but a start of an idea... In a monsoon you might get enough to charge a 2000mAh AA Ni-Cd.
User avatar
By Braingobbler
#23718
I really like this idea. Especially on houses. We all have gutters that fall through a pipe. With a little redesigning you could totally use rain to add some juice to your house. This could help with your bills. If done correctly, you this could be a great way for people to save money on their gas or electricity bill.
By Ariaelf
#23871
I found this thread via Google search to see if anyone else had thought of the idea, or if there was something already available for rain > electric energy.

For those who think it would be too intermittent to be powerful or practical, that may be true where you live, but I'm a few miles between the rain forest and the ocean in Western WA and 9 months of the year it's pouring down several hours a day. It's not unusual for heavy rain to come down hard for 24 hours straight in the winter. If this relatively small town got serious about rain power we could be selling it back to other parts of the state *without* damming rivers and flooding huge areas and affecting wildlife. We could just *beep* our city drain system! :P

What I'm thinking of is small turbines that would either be in the gutters as the water comes down, or a whole series of little turbines covering the roof but with larger collection flanges and a drop through a narrow tube above them, to help generate the mass and force needed. Another idea is a large collection tank up at the level of the roof which has multiple spouts - say 10 or 20 that spray the water out when it collects a certain amount, onto the turbines below. I'm sure there are a lot of ways to design such a system, and it's not something I'm really familiar with since I don't work in engineering.

Also I don't think batteries would be essential, as long as the extra electricity could be sold back to the local PUD, it would offset my electric bill, or possibly cover it in whole. It's just ridiculous that the planet is being choked by dirty carbon polluting fuels for our electric needs, when there is so much free solar and hydro and wind and tidal power, more than we could ever possibly need across our planet.

Any help is appreciated.
By Philip Hughes
#23881
Hi, guys this is first time i am visiting this forum. Its glad to see such a great info posted here. So many things i came to know new by this forum.
By daveparf
#24108
You could always install my frictionless generators in downpipes or water mains in houses, offices, or in the streets, The product has thousands of applications because of its none failing parts and free flowing design, Patent pending and almost ready to go! My post is called " Hydro electricity in all homes" :D
By daveparf
#24109
daveparf wrote:You could always install my frictionless generators in downpipes or water mains in houses, offices, or in the streets, The product has thousands of applications because of its none failing parts and free flowing design, Patent pending and almost ready to go! My post is called " Hydro electricity in all homes" :D
Regards,
PARF HYDRO INNOVATIONS LLC
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