Turbine could generate electricity each time you flush

This one's been swirling around for a tick, but Leviathan Energy's brilliant new turbine is just too good to pass up. Showcased at the Cleantech Forum in California, this contraption would reportedly generate power from the downward movement of water through pipes in a municipal system. In other words, there's potential to conjure up energy from simply flushing one's toilet. Of course, there's nothing revolutionary about yet another hydroelectric generator, but using such a device to grab power from such a dirty place takes things to a whole 'nother level.

[Via Inhabitat]

[ijyt @ Mar 6th 2008 11:09AM]

Oh this is just being anal.

[Jamma @ Mar 6th 2008 11:52AM]

Forget that stuff at CES, this is the real crapgadget!

[Asha @ Mar 6th 2008 12:56PM]

Actually, it is kind of brilliant in its simplicity. This is energy that could be harnessed and, as long as those things don't clog or break down easily, it could recover a moderate amount of power. It isn't going to fix the energy crisis, but a drop in the bucket is still just that.

[Flashpoint @ Mar 6th 2008 11:11AM]

I personally don't see this generating enough energy to meet the demands of current households, BUT, something like this should be in use in STORM DRAINS and GUTTERS of heavily raining areas.

[Brodie @ Mar 6th 2008 11:16AM]

I don't think it's necessarily the point to produce enough energy to power a home or anything, but its producing energy using something that needs to occur anyway. I agree with you about storm drains being another good thing to look into...

[7on @ Mar 6th 2008 11:18AM]

But it could offset an electric bill by a few dollars.

I think the idea is a bunch of generators wokring together in the long run. Solar panels, wind/water turbines, grass with sweaters on, etc. it's the future!

[tom @ Mar 6th 2008 11:33AM]

This is so gonna interfere my internet from google TISP

http://www.google.com/tisp/install.html

[required @ Mar 6th 2008 11:43AM]

Clean energy is everywhere yet one device can not capture it all, therefor we need collaboration.

[mike @ Mar 6th 2008 12:23PM]

Here's to hoping my Seattle power bill will be going down soon...

[Whiplash @ Mar 6th 2008 12:51PM]

This is really kind of brilliant. Every time I go to Vegas I wonder how much waste water is generated by all those hotel room toilets. They could probably power a lot of neon by installing a few of these.

[Michael @ Mar 6th 2008 2:56PM]

@Whiplash
That's actually an amazing idea! I was thinking about it as one house at a time and not getting that much energy about of it, but if you think of it as an entire hotel, where each room itself doesn't use that much energy...

Or, how about we take it a step further? Install one of those with each toilet that has an auto sensor to flush... make the turbine power the next flush!


Oh, and how much you wanna bet the guy that came up with this did so while taking a shit!

[Sivada @ Mar 10th 2008 9:40AM]

I agree, but also car washes, laundry mats, hotles, etc. Originally I was thinking it might be an asset if placed after the last tank, & in route to sprinler heads on septic systems. Furthermore, placed on the individual water supply line, feeding dwellings & businesses, from the water main!
I think if used in conjunction with other electricity saving technologies, it would be worth while to both households & businesses!
Thanks, T.

[Dave @ Mar 6th 2008 11:13AM]

I always had a feeling having a shit would solve the energy crises.

[technophobe @ Mar 6th 2008 11:16AM]

you could always burn the methane

[MEAT! @ Mar 6th 2008 11:31AM]

So what you're saying is the energy crisis is full of shit? The oil companies are right??

[RikF @ Mar 6th 2008 12:11PM]

No, he's saying that all the best ideas come when you're... seated, but not on a chair

[MEAT! @ Mar 6th 2008 11:14AM]

Would this not decrease the speed of the water, and thus encourage toilet clogging? Perhaps you could turn it off and on.

These guys are chumps. How about a water wheel that you piss on? Now that's innovation!

[azrealjg @ Mar 6th 2008 11:19AM]

From the looks of it, it doesn't go on a toilet outlet anyway. But it would be useful for capturing otherwise wasted energy from showers/dishwashers/sinks at the very least.

[Aaron @ Mar 6th 2008 12:05PM]

That would probably give me some incentive to actually get it in the bowl

[MEAT! @ Mar 6th 2008 12:17PM]

@Aaron

Rest stops on the highway could have a high score list, with flashing lights and brightly-colored readouts, encouraging you to generate the most electricity, all for the good of the country.

[michas_pi @ Mar 6th 2008 11:23AM]

So when I experience severe intestinal distress and the resulting situation requires a plunger, wouldn't the plunger be sucked in?

I'll pass on this one.

[Asher69 @ Mar 6th 2008 11:27AM]

..And if the generator breaks down, can you no longer use the toilet?

[looseinthedeuce @ Mar 6th 2008 11:31AM]

Thermodynamics lesson:

The total energy "gained" is less than or equal to: (mass of water) x (height change of water)

Which means it's like lifting a bucket of water a foot. A device like this likely requires way more energy to manufacture than it will ever help produce.

[Ike Skelton @ Mar 6th 2008 12:20PM]

Yes! More thermodynamics:
the turbines used will be limited to only about 30% efficiency.

[michael @ Mar 6th 2008 12:57PM]

Im only fifteen and Im just about the complete my course in standard grade physics(Scottish high school qualifications).

Are you talking about converting teh potential energy stored in the water into electrical. If so that is a huge waste of time. Ep=mgh

AFAIK my cistern holds 7 litres of water so mass = 7kg.
my cistern is just under a metre high above the ground so height = 1m(for simplicity)
and the gravitational field strength is just under 10 and ill round it to 10 for ease.

so working out the potential energy of that water is 70 joules. And then the generator is not going to be 100% efficient, lets call it 50% so 35joules of energy. That, is utterly useless.

S**t idea. :P

[michael @ Mar 6th 2008 1:00PM]

:$ I just realised that it would b the water coming out of the bowl, and not the cistern. So scrub the last post, unless they place the generator between the cistern and the bowl. And that is most unlikely

[Gabe @ Mar 6th 2008 3:49PM]

Maybe it's the headline that's confusing you. This is a device designed for municipal water systems. It doesn't go on your toilet. Each turbine would be powered by hundreds of toilets, sinks, storm drains, etc.

[Argot @ Mar 6th 2008 11:32AM]

Is that the new iPhone?

[jeeesus @ Mar 6th 2008 11:39AM]

HOW did you manage to get apple into this?

i am amazed. and thats saying something.

[emailtabs @ Mar 6th 2008 11:57AM]

nope its the iplop.

http://www.1iphone1toilet.com/

[bob sakamano @ Mar 6th 2008 11:38AM]

so not only are we going green, now we are going brown?

[John Johnson @ Mar 6th 2008 11:40AM]

Sorry, I'm more of a fan of clean energy.

[michas_pi @ Mar 6th 2008 11:44AM]

I lol'd hard.

Also, fuck yeah, Top Gear!

[pathogen @ Mar 6th 2008 11:44AM]

Yeah i really need slowing down the flush of a 1.6 gallon toilet.

[Ike Skelton @ Mar 6th 2008 11:45AM]

It won't generate enough electricity to power hardly anything. Even using it on drains of all sorts; sinks, showers, etc.

[Viney @ Mar 6th 2008 12:33PM]

It's intended for municipal systems, where you have more of a constant flow from multiple sources. You would not attach one of these to every fixture you have in your household when each runs for mere minutes in a day. That'd be dumb and incredibly impractical.

Would you build multiple hydro-electric dams on every tiny creek and stream that eventually combines into a larger body of water?

[Ike Skelton @ Mar 6th 2008 2:38PM]

It's a good idea, but incredibly impractical for any use. Low rank that, bitch.

[spamhere-engadget.com @ Mar 7th 2008 8:09PM]

Isn't the point of pumping water through the pipes to remove the water? I mean, if this were on a mountain top and you could harness the gravitational pull, that's one thing, but on a flat-level pipe... you'd have to pump harder to pass through the turbine, which would defeat the purpose, because it's going to lose energy. Isn't this like a perpetual-energy-losing machine?

[Chris @ Mar 6th 2008 11:50AM]

I agree with LooseintheGoose,

One of the huge conumdrums of all these devices is that we use up a lot of energy and produce a lot of CO2 to create these things.

But I think it is solvable.

[Kris @ Mar 6th 2008 11:54AM]

What a shitty idea.

[ryanmicj @ Mar 7th 2008 1:32PM]

Here's the problem with this: your water is pumped by gravity, out of your local water tower. As long as that water tower is higher than the highest point water needs to get to, no additional pumping facilities are needed. But that water tower needs to have continually running pumps bringing water up to the top. So someone is paying for the power to do that. You may recoup some of that power when you flush, but nowhere enough to make up the difference. It would be better to have the local water authority install turbines on the water tower to recoup the energy when the water goes OUT of the tower, and then charge you less on your water bill. But this will never make a dent in a typical household's electric bill.

[rob @ Mar 6th 2008 12:00PM]

Oily Shit!

[mlf @ Mar 6th 2008 2:56PM]

people, people

Don't think individual households, it's probably not made for that and wouldn't make much sense. Think about larger buildings, like say, my 14 story office building. My building has probably around 150 toilets and lots of people.

[edzy @ Mar 6th 2008 3:02PM]

ahh ! you beat me to it.

[Tgadget @ Mar 6th 2008 12:27PM]

They stole this idea from Tom Goes to the Mayor!! Way to go Tom Peters!!! Maybe with all the money this will save, they can bring back the show.

[The_Steven @ Mar 6th 2008 12:34PM]

I you take a moment to think about it... Put it on the cold water supply line, just past your water meter. That way all water going into your building will generate some amount of power.

So it's not just every flush, but also every shower, diswasher, clothes washer, lawn sprinkler, etc., would generate a few watts.

So maybe it will take a long time for it to pay for it self in a single family house, but in a hotel, or apartment complex, or office building it could pay for itself in days.

What if the lights in the lobby of your building were powered by this device? Why didn't I think of this idea sooner?

[murray @ Mar 6th 2008 1:22PM]

No.

If you put a generator in the inbound plumbing, you're using the energy provided by the pumping station that creates your water pressure. You then lose water pressure, and the pumping station has to pump harder to compensate. In the end you have no energy gain (in fact you would have a loss due to inefficiency).

What you're missing is that the proposal in this story takes advantage of gravity, which is free. It only makes sense to harness energy that is already there, and not being utilized. That's what hydro does.

[w00t @ Mar 6th 2008 2:57PM]

Great... so the water company will need bigger pumps to keep the pressure and flow rate up thus draining more extra power than these can produce and thus completing the whole pointless cycle.

Come on, this is up there with that stupid MSI chipset cooler! Think bigger guys this isn't going to make a difference...

[Ross @ Mar 6th 2008 12:47PM]

I love all the people who, rather than trying to think of a good use for an interesting idea, spend their valuable time trying to think of reasons why it won't work.

(This applies to most stuff I see on Engadget).

[sully @ Mar 6th 2008 1:30PM]

These people are called "Engineers"