Green Building Forum - Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

Ldriver — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:34:22 +0000

Hello,
I'm new to this forum, long time peeper though. I'm building at the moment and am considering rainwater harvesting to be collected in an underground tank and then pumped back upstairs to a tank serving cisterns and washing machine. Could some form of small hydroelect generator be connected inline as underground tank fills and it's output sent to the smartmeter to offset the cost of pumping it upstairs?

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

jms452 — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:49:08 +0000

hi Ldriver,

1st bit sounds fine - although I'd go for the easy stuff like insulation and draught-proofing before rainwater harvesting.

The hydroelectric generator bit doesn't seem very viable though:

The amount of energy you could gather as the rainwater falls from the gutter to the tank would be tiny.
i.e. 1000L of water falling 10m would give you a maximum of 0.03kwh of energy (or 0.3 pence of electricity).

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

Ldriver — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:35:23 +0000

Thanks jms,
As I thought, too good to be true. Going big on the fabric alright.

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

SteamyTea — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:35:17 +0000

May be a bit late as your already building but could you not have designed in some water storage higher than the cistern but lower than the gutter. Gravity could have done its work then.

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

Ldriver — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 22:49:05 +0000

SteamyTea,
Bit late Good idea.

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

Jonti — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:23:32 +0000

LDriver,

you could put in a header tank big enough for a couple of loads in the washing machine and/or the cistern and use a hand pump to get the water there. Very green and good fitness too

Jonti

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

DamonHD — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:48:28 +0000

Food is not necessarily a cheap or green or low-carbon fuel! B^>

Rgds

Damon

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

Jonti — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:02:53 +0000

Posted By: DamonHDFood is not necessarily a cheap or green or low-carbon fuel! B^>

Rgds

Damon

I guess you do not eat then

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

finny — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:28:41 +0000

Hmm.. those figures from Jms looking good to me. We are in Mid Wales tucked under Cadair Idris, reckon I could be a net supplier some days!

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

DamonHD — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:03:29 +0000

I don't eat extra to displace work that could be done by electricity for example.

Rgds

Damon

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

SteamyTea — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:08:27 +0000

Posted By: DamonHDI don't eat extra to displace work that could be done by electricity for example

I don't work extra, just replace the time with something more interesting

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

DamonHD — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:13:55 +0000

In this forum we obey the laws of thermodynamics...

Rgds

Damon

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

Jonti — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:19:56 +0000

Ah Damon,

in these times of austerity maybe a personal energy review would lead you to be able to increase your physical output whilst reducing your nutritional input

Jonti

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

SteamyTea — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:26:06 +0000

Jonti
Nutrition and Energy are not the same thing, why we have scurvy and rickets in the UK and obesity.

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

DamonHD — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:31:53 +0000

I'd like to go on record as not having scurvy or rickets, and my middle-age spread is keeping just the right side of obesity I hope! %-P

Rgds

Damon

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

wastetech — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:10:01 +0000

Several states in India, including Bangalore have made rainwater harvesting compulsary for many new building and existing ones over a certain size, in an effort to address the water shortage problem. It is a planning permission requirement. I can see it happening here too.

Rainwater harvesting and hydroelectric

SteamyTea — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:24:07 +0000

Isn't it already part of Code for Sustainable Homes?