Rainfall energy generating system

Abstract

Energy conservation system that harnesses rainwater to drive a turbine located in a downpipe of a guttering system. The energy system includes a downpipe 1 attached to a guttering system and fitted with multiple water turbines 3 within the downpipe that are able to move freely and spin in response to water flowing down the pipe. There is also a housing or nacelle 2 fixed around the drainpipe that protects the systems components including turbine’s gears, the generator and wires. The turbine blades may be made of a lightweight material such as synthetic rubber or bamboo, and the turbines can be connected to battery banks via a charge controller to store the generated electricity.

Description

This invention relates to a system designed to utilise rainfall and guttering systems to generate electrical energy. During rain, water rolls down from the slope of the building's roof to the gutters. Downpipes, carry water from the gutters to the base of the house. The rainwater then runs down into the ground drainage system or is diverted into a water storage tank. The energy from the rainwater travelling through the downpipes is wasted, the present invention converts the wasted energy into renewable electrical energy. To utilise this waterfall, the present invention proposes a downpipe that is fitted with multiple water turbines designed to make use of the water's motion and weight to generate electricity. The electricity is accumulated from each water turbine, then collectively carried through a charge controller into battery banks, to be used as required by the system owners. This invention would help reduce household's energy bills, reduce collective national consumption of energy generated from fossil fuel, and contribute to an eco-friendly environment, making a positive impact on the planet for future generations. The system consists of two vertical drums, both mounted alongside each other to the wall and fixed using screws and clips. The two vertical drums are not identical in shape or size, but they both host parts of the water turbines. The first vertical drum is a downpipe directly attached to the guttering collecting the rainwater. This downpipe hosts the blades part of the turbines. The second vertical drum is a nacelle that hosts the box that contains the turbine's gears and generator, as well as the wires. This box is fixed onto the outer surface of the downpipe by screws and brackets but covered by the nacelle for protection. However, the blades of the turbine are positioned inside the downpipe in a way that allows for free movement. Both vertical drums could be flip opened in one way or another, to allow access to the water turbines for repair or replacement. The vertical drums can be made from metal, plastic, vinyl, copper, or aluminium. The water turbine blades can be made from natural or synthetic rubber, plastic, bamboo, nylon, wood, or any light material that can provide the required rotation movements. The invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a rainfall electricity generating system, including the downpipe attached to the guttering, hosting the water turbine blades, and the vertical nacelle hosting the box that contains the other components of the water turbines: gears, generators, and wires which are connected to a battery bank through a charge controller. Figure 2 shows the blades of a water turbine hosted inside the downpipe and the other components of the turbine: the gears, generator, and wires hosted inside the vertical nacelle. In figure 1, a downpipe 1 is mounted onto the building's wall and attached to the guttering system. 1 is fitted with multiple water turbines 3. The box that contains the turbine's gears, generators, and wires is fixed onto the outside surface of 1. However, the blades of the water turbine 3 are hosted freely inside 1. The turbine blades rotate autonomously by the motion and weight of the rainwater. Fixed alongside 1, is the vertical nacelle 2 covering the water turbine's box and wires to protect it from water and weather damage. The rainwater flows into 1 from the gutters. The motion and weight of the waterfall causes the blades of the water turbines 3 to rotate, creating electrical energy. The turbine's produced electrical energy is then carried collectively through a charge controller into a battery bank, then to an off-grid inverter, then to the meter and utilities to provide electricity. Figure 2 shows a water turbine, its components, and their positions within 1 and 2. The box 5 that contains the turbine's gears, generator, and wires is fixed onto the outside surface of 1 by screws and brackets 6 and 7. However the water turbine blades 4 are hosted inside 1.

Claims

1. A rainfall energy generating system comprising downpipes attached to the guttering system, water turbines fitted onto the downpipe, wherein the turbine's blades can freely rotate inside the downpipe utilising the rainwater motion and weight to generate electricity, and a vertical nacelle covering the turbine's box which contains the gears, generator, and wires.

2. A rainfall energy generating system according to claim 1, in which a turbine's blades maximum rotation is provided by using lightweight materials such as natural or synthetic rubber and bamboo, or any other lightweight materials to augment the blade's rotation.

3. A rainfall energy generating system according to claim 1, in which the downpipe hosts only the water turbine's blades whilst the other components of the water turbine which include the gears, the generators and the wires are hosted in a vertical nacelle mounted alongside the downpipe.

4. A rainfall energy generating system according to claim 1, in which the electricity that is generated from every single water turbine is collectively sent through a charge controller into battery banks to be used by the system owners as required.

5. A rainfall energy generating system according to claim 1, in which can be implemented on guttering systems of residential or commercial buildings or on an industrial scale in which specialised guttering systems are erected near hills or mountains.

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