In a poweroutage, and you had a small faucet powered generator, what would you power with it?

Question

how big would you want it to be? and how much would you pay? and any other comments would be helpful thanks!

We are designing a SMALL generator that will be powered by the water coming out of the faucet. Would anyone have a use for this?

Answer 1

What do you mean by a "faucet" powered generator?

I have a small 6500 watt emergency generator that is gas powered.
On a power outage I start the generator, throw the generator switch that disconnects me from the normal power sevice line, and plug a prewired cable from my generator breaker box into the generator.
The generator operates my kitchen lights and outlets, microwave, and fridge. It also operates my gas furnace, and all the outlets and lights in my garage, including the garage door and a chest freezer.
It operates the lights and vent fan in one bathroom, and the lights and outlets in one bedroom, in the living room and dining room, and all the lights and outlets in my den where I have my tv's, electronic equipment, and computers.
The longest I have had to operate with it is 4 consecutive days two years ago when we had a very heavy snowstorm. Have never had any problems with it in 7 years, except the carburator has to be serviced periodically.
It only furnishes 110V, so it does not cover my electric range or clothes dryer.

You can probably get a generator to do the job for between $750 - $1,000, but then you also need a generator switch and a separate breaker box for the circuits you want the generator to power. That can cost anywhere from $500 - $1,500,

Answer 2

That's a great idea...however, you'd have to figure out how to ramp up the household water pressure through an orifice design to power a generator of any sizeable output..may not be feasable for powering very much more than a radio or TV and it's pretty wasteful of water. I've heard of designs that incorporate an impeller/generator built into the water lines that generates electricity as you normally use your water for washing clothes or taking a shower and charge up batteries. Most people in power loss prone areas have backup generators that work on gas, diesel or natural gas and need several thousand watts of energy to run a household. And some people buy inverters to run their house at a minimum level off their cars during power outages.

Answer 3

Since the pressure of the water coming out of your faucet is relatively low, I don't think you'll be able to power much of anything in a house. Without actually doing the calculations, I doubt you'd even be able to power a 60W light bulb.

To calculate how much power you'd be able to produce, you'd have to calculate the amount of energy provided by the water using its velocity and mass, then convert that energy value to electrical energy (watts). Of course, no generator is 100% efficient, so some of the energy provided by the water will be lost in your generator.

I don't want to discourage you, because exploring and understanding our world is how we come up with new and exciting technology, but this idea may be a bit far fetched. In any case, good luck with your experiment!

Answer 4

Don't! This is incredibly wasteful - think of all the fresh water you are pouring down the drain. How much work do you think you can extract from the faucet? Think you can even power up as much as an ordinary flashlight would?