WATER METER TO ENERGIZE POWER

[194 WASHINGTON]

WE HAVE A FOUR STORY APARTMENT BUILDING AND WOULD LIKE TO TRY AND HOOK UP ANOTHER WATER METER WITH A SOLID SHAFT COUPLED TO AN ALTERNATOR TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY. THE WATER LINE IS A 2" LINE WITH 60 LBS OF WATER PRESSURE. ANY SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATED.

No need to SHOUT! Very unfriendly to post in all Capitals. No need for a double post, either.

[Nando]

Yes !

First : Start by writing NOT with capital letters, in Internet it is difficult to read the message and it is bad ETIQUETTE.

Second: the idea of using the city water pressure to produce power is "ATROCIOUS" and totally NON economical, you will spend a lot of monthly money to produce a bit of energy and at the same time you will be wasting a lot of processed water that all the citizens of your city would like to have for their normal use of clean potable water.

Expensive proposition for the benefit of one, hurting many.

A second "meter" shafted to a generator needs a constant water volume to produce some power, also it will reduce the pressure to a low value, making it too a low pressure after the "meter".

Nando

[Gary D]

If it is an inline generator, no water is wasted. However, in our state capital on the news, our Governor touted such a "green" system about a year ago. Looked about a 2 inch line, so it wasn't powering much at all. The drawback as I saw it was it's 20 or so year payback time. By then the unit would need replacing how many times?   Gary D

[electrak]

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/waterpressure-powered-lightup-shower-155266.php

how about one of these

put one on every foscet replace the LEDs with wires to a battery? or just buy a solar panel and get unknown times more power per dollar

[alancorey]

Now in a four story building if you could put a turbine in the drain lines coming down from the higher apartments you might have something.  Not much, and it would be very intermittent, but something.  Keeping it from getting clogged with lint and hair would be a problem.  A VW solar panel might outperform it for less investment.

  Alan