| Across the world, it is becoming increasingly obvious that we must change the way we live as human beings. Our population is over seven billion, and the natural world simply cannot sustain this large of a population unless we learn to live within its means. Buildings, the structures that house us and provide us with shelter every day, are responsible for nearly half of the energy consumption across the United States (eai.gov, 2008). As cities continue to grow and available land diminishes, buildings will only get taller and consume even more energy. This energy requires vast amounts of water, so as our population grows, we are using more energy and more water, two of the most critical components of human prosperity. Renewable and sustainable energy production is now more of a reality than ever, especially as people become aware of the impending shortage of natural resources.;I propose to offer a modified renewable energy source in a new environment. The use of hydropower turbines for renewable energy generation is something common to many places across the globe, but the use of hydropower turbines in a building is not. In this paper I propose a system that utilizes greywater from high-rise residential buildings to create energy with hydropower turbines at the base of the building. Calculations show the system can produce energy, but improvements and changes need to be considered for this to be a commercially viable renewable energy source. |
