The Power Of Plumbing

Every so often a good idea is spawned, and it is quite possible that the idea was formed when someone was on the loo. Not sure a bout the loo thing but a young engineering student has come up with an original idea for generating electricity by using the machanics the are used to carry our sewage away.

The inventor, Tom Broadbent, whos is actually an industrial design student at Leicester’s De Montfort University (DMU), has designed the ‘HighDro Power’ system that harnesses the energy from the falling waste inside the soil pipes of a high-rise building and converts it to electricity. Orpington Plumbers are professional tradesmen. The young mans inspiration for this invention occured when he emptied out a bath in a hotel and noticed that it drained away very fast and with a large amount of force. He soon realised that it could be possible to capture this energy and in some way turn it into green electricity. He named his creation “HighDro Power and it works by using the water that is discharged from everyday appliances like showers, toilets and sinks, but in high-rise apartments (hence HighDro). An Orpington Plumber is trained to work on all appliances.

The water runs at speed down the pipe and strikes four turbine blades that in turn drive a generator. The entire thing was based on the old waterwheels to guarantee that any solids passing through had limited effects on the operation of the machine. Tom decided to make his invention to answer the various governmental targets that were set at the G8 summit to reduce all their countries carbon dioxide emissions and also reduce their dependency on fossil fuels for energy production by 2050. He forecasts that the electricity produced by the HighDro Power can either be used in the building to save around £925 (or US$ 1410) or even sell it back to the national power grid on a kind of buy back scheme or tariff. To engineer a working prototype of this design, Tom used rapid prototyping techniques with laser sintering and CNC milling machines, and vacuum forming. He located the bearings, gears and other materials from companies that supply standard components. Mr Broadbent aims to take this innovation to the next stage by installing it in a building for a practical assesment and testing.”