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HighDro Power Concept Turns to Toilet Flushes for Energy

by Caleb Johnson on July 23, 2010 at 08:30 AM

Design student harnesses energy from toilet flushes.A U.K. industrial design student has discovered a way to harness energy each time a toilet is flushed or a bathtub is drained. According to Creative Boom, Tom Broadbent's HighDro Power works much like a miniature hydroelectric dam, inside your building's sewage pipes. When water drains from a toilet, tub, sink or any other appliance, it travels down the pipes, through the device and spins four turbine blades, which power a generator. (Don't worry. This design allows "solids" to pass through without damaging the device.) Broadbent claims that the HighDro Power could save a seven-story building about $1,400 in electricity costs per year, or that the electricity it generates could even be sold to power companies. So, it's friendly to the environment and the wallet, too.

The HighDro Power isn't commercially available yet, but Broadbent hopes to find a landlord that's willing to test it in a building soon. It shouldn't be hard to sell to a New York landlord, who would likely just pass any installation costs to the tenants anyway. [From: Creative Boom, via: Core 77]

Tags: bathroom, concept, design, diy, electricity, Energy, environment, green, greentech, highdro power, HighdroPower, research, toilet, toilets, top

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