RainCapture

Energy is a very important resource has become necessity. It powers every major sector in society today. This extreme importance makes harvesting energy from different sources critical for the survival and advancement of humanity. Currently, there are different sources of energy that exist which include fuel, hydropower, geothermal, solar and wind. These sources are all part of the water cycle with the sun at its center. We utilize almost all parts of it except for precipitation which is something that deserves research. Harvesting energy from rain itself would be an expensive process through use of piezoelectric materials & tribological surfaces. On its own, it may be an inefficient way to harness energy, but when it is added on to other systems, it has potential for use.

I propose to make the process of collecting rain inexpensive by utilizing systems that exist today such as drainage systems, rooftops, buildings and solar panels. This can be made possible by developing an adaptable device that stores rain water and releases it into a turbine similar to ones used in hydro-power plants. Drainage systems that lead to large water bodies can be filtered through turbines instead to harness energy. Rain collected from rooftops can be channeled to a single collection tank which releases the water when full into the turbine. Buildings could collect water on the top and release it through a channel at the bottom where the water runs a turbine. Existing or future solar plants can channel water to a single tank which releases water in cycles when full past a turbine. The water can be lead to a ditch to create potential energy for the captured and flowing fluid. This would allow the plant to produce energy even when the rain clouds cover the sun making it a more reliable source of energy.