Fwd: [Van-Kal Permaculture] Wait. My brain can't make this work. Electrical...

[tomme...@gmail.com]

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From: Paul Pancella <paul.p...@wmich.edu>
Date: June 1, 2016 at 10:33:56 AM EDT
To: tomme maile <tomme...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Van-Kal Permaculture] Wait.  My brain can't make this work. Electrical...

Tomme,
             I think you are right to be skeptical about the net gain associated with this system.  In general, there is no free lunch.  Without more data, I can't verify whether or not it is a good idea to generate some electricity in this particular case.  I can say for sure that pressure in the water line will be reduced downstream of any such turbine while it is operating.  Sometimes, in complex water distribution systems, pressure needs to be reduced in certain lines, and other methods for doing so may waste energy.  If Portland's system already had more pressure than they needed, and there was no other way to save energy and money by reducing the pressure, this could be a good way to harvest energy that was otherwise wasted.  On the other hand, if they now have to expend more energy to get adequate pressure because of these turbines, then they are likely not to gain anything.

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From: "tomme maile" <tomme...@gmail.com>
To: "paul pancella" <paul.p...@wmich.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2016 7:51:21 PM
Subject: Fwd: [Van-Kal Permaculture] Wait.  My brain can't make this work. Electrical...

Hey Paul,

Please explain this to me.

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Anne Arthur" <notificati...@facebookmail.com>
Date: May 31, 2016 at 7:20:26 PM EDT
To: Van-Kal Permaculture <vankalper...@groups.facebook.com>
Subject: Re: [Van-Kal Permaculture] Wait.  My brain can't make this work.  Electrical...
Reply-To: Reply to Comment <g+40pesh5x000000kafuys009...@groups.facebook.com>

Anne Arthur commented on your post in Van-Kal Permaculture. Anne Arthur 7:20pm May 31 They already pump it up into towers and gravity back down.... run it past turbines on the gravity runs and generate 'free' electricity? Original Post Tomme R. Maile 6:54pm May 31 Wait. My brain can't make this work. Electrical pumps are used to fill water towers that supply even pressure to water mains. If this energy is robbed to generate electricity, aren't you robbing Peter to pay Paul? Portland Now Generates Electricity From Turbines Installed In City Water Pipes www.good.is Water flowing through the city's pipes will generate electricity like a dam with none of the environ... View Post on Facebook · Edit Email Settings · Reply to this email to add a comment.

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Paul V. Pancella
Professor of Physics
Western Michigan University
(269)387-4962

[tomme...@gmail.com]

Below is a response from physics professor Paul Pancella.

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