Plumbing-powered illumination
Product manufacturers routinely attempt to make their technologies more resource-efficient, but interesting breakthroughs may be found in the interrelationships between technologies that are typically discrete. Mexico City and London–based design practice Hierve offers an example of such a hybrid system in the form of plumbing-powered lighting.
The idea is simple: Take advantage of the pressure exerted by the movement of water through a conventional plumbing system, and convert some of this pressure into energy for use in powering light fixtures. The so-called hydroelectric lamps are connected to a building’s water pipes and have integrated microturbines that spin in the presence of moving water. Although such a system could work within an enclosed network, the Hierve designers celebrate the combination of water and light with a transparent light fixture in which one can see water movement.
Although one can appreciate the ingenuity of this hybridization of building infrastructure, further studies are required to determine how much power can be reasonably harnessed from typical household plumbing, and whether the added resistance would require higher-powered pumps—thus reducing or eliminating the system’s energy-saving advantages. Nevertheless, this kind of deep-systems integration approach is commendable and could inspire many more breakthrough ideas.
Contact: Hierve, Mexico City, Mexico.
