The technology is very simple: Four pillars support a tank (of around 20 cubic meters or 5000 gallons – my estimation) ten meters (33 feet) above the ground. The benefit is obvious: a decent amount of water positioned high enough above ground will provide good water pressure for gravity feeding the irrigation system on the ground. The one seen in my photo is located in Chapultepec Park, where it was most likely connected to the water and electric grids (before becoming defunct). In rural settings it can be assumed that it is built above a drilled well. Though the electricity to power the pump is very likely still brought in from somewhere far away, it doesn't have be necessarily so.
At the beginning there was a water tower. I'd seen this type of water tower lots of times on various properties, and in different conditions, before one appeared in my dream. I'm talking about the kind of dream you experience while sleeping, but soon it moved into the other type you fantasize about when awake.
In one of my recent posts I showed a couple of examples on how rising heat can be made useful, from rocket stoves to the passive heating / cooling system in Earthships. Today I want to continue spinning this thread and combine it with some ideas that I have had over the years. The result is still in the realm of dreams, though as it usually is with castles of air, all they need is a good foundation to become real. I'm sure I'll get there eventually. For now, let's take a look at its three parts:
Part One: The Water Tower
Now, depending on the local conditions, it may be more efficient to use solar or wind. However, making full use of the water-tower, and my own selfish desire to get high – I mean, enjoying the benefits of a high position – or rather, the insight that comes in elevated states – I think the water pump, and many other appliances, could be powered only with convection, provided it is combined with the necessary infrastructure.
Part Two: The Earthship Towers
One of the more beautiful experimental structures at the Greater World Community in Taos are the Towers. The idea behind them was to illustrate how Earthships could work in an urban setting, so they designed this two-storey building, complete with a tall greenhouse on the southern side. Although I believe that Earthships would be rather limited in a city (just imagine if they built a taller building across the street from its greenhouse!), one thing is certain: the tall greenhouse certainly does generate a lot of heat.
Academy students will probably recall the story of the melted typewriter, the inadvertent result of an earlier prototype of a two-level Earthship. Or consider the heat chimney, a taller section of a roof, made to increase the draw in a building, by directing the heat through a higher portion of the roof. The Towers are exactly like such a heat chimney. And all that hot air escapes through the ceiling vents, where it dissipates into the global atmosphere... Could it possibly be of any additional use before?
Part Three: The Vertical Axis Wheel
Since I've always found it appealing to be sitting on the top of the world, I think it would be the perfect combination to build an Earthship tower right under (and around) a water tower. The idea is to use the constant flow of hot air through the building to power the water-pump. The means to do this would be a vertical axis wind turbine, on top of the water tank. Now this is the part that requires the expert advice of some good engineers, as I haven't seen this exact application in action.
What gave me the inspiration is the Advent Pyramid I could see every Christmas growing up in Germany: The candles around the outer edge provide rising heat to drive the propeller, which in turn makes the figurines of angels, shepherds, three kings, Mary, Joe, and Jesus spin inside the pyramid. Of course the final design would probably resemble more the commercial vertical axis turbines, but the point remains the same: It will turn, no matter which way the wind blows. But even without any wind, the upward draft should drive the wheel and pump water. At this point, generating electricity is only a secondary concern.
The rest is quite straight forward. The wind turbine raises water from the underground well into the tank above the tower. From there, the water is gravity fed down to be used on all levels of the building, as well as outside for irrigation. Most importantly, as the water drops down to ground level, it goes through another turbine, this time with the primary function of generating electricity. It would make a lot of sense to combine the evening watering with the recharging of batteries.
As for the building itself, I would probably prefer to make it a bit more inclined, more conical, to provide a nice large space on the ground level, with a greenhouse, workshop, and lots of space for people. The second level would be a bit more private, but still with sufficient space for a lounge and a dining table for the gathering of closer circles. The top level would consist of a much smaller, more private area, of an extended master bedroom (with washroom, closet, etc.) and of course, a beautiful view onto my domain...
Nice dream, but what about the plan? When can I move into this amazing structure? When am I gonna have my own piece of land? At the moment the plans are non-existent, presently I'm not even sure if it'll happen in the country where I am living now. Gotta see... However, if anyone of you guys likes this design, and would like to implement something like this, I would certainly love to come and see it!
The vertical shaft windmills are well proven technology, having been used in the Middle East for thousands of years. There are some wooden ones still operational in Iran.
While harnessing the thermal driving mass of water (thermal convective flow) is doable, the engineering required is a bugger and fraught with pitfalls. These pitfalls can be avoided, but the engineering is expensive.
You may find it beneficial to altetnately look into a "trompe" for harnessing water power.
Awesome, @torquewrench1969! I'm so happy to get a comment from someone who seems to know something about this. Just to make sure we didn't misunderstand each other: what I want to harness is the thermal covective flow of AIR, that has been heated up in the greenhouse, to pump the water up into the tank. As for generating electricity, I want to use the water coming down for running a micro-hydro turbine. The latter is pretty straight forward. The former part is the one I'm not so sure about.
Now I understand what you're wanting to do!
It could be done with rising hot air, but the greenhouse would need to be pretty big and the water flow rate would be pretty low.
I'll think about this a bit and get back to you
yes get back to him....and untold thousands of us dreaming and waiting for proof of concept ;p
Or maybe just 'me too' ;p
I love your idea dual purpose! I may steal it one day! It would be quite a feat of engineering. I am showing it to my husband in a forward email... hope one day your dream of building it yourself can become a reality. An IBC container would probably work for the upper container and you could use solar as an alternative if need be.
Very enjoyable thoughts,
Melissa
I'm glad you like it! Would love to hear what your husband thinks about it. As for the tank, I think I'd like to have it a bit bigger than an IBC container. But these types of water towers seem to be everywhere... I guess they must have bee made for dug wells where they wanted to elevate it for gravity feeding. It would be great to find a property with one already installed.
He said as cheap as solar is now the motors might be cost prohibitive but he loves the idea of converting one of those towers to a house....Live in the clouds! LOL
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Thank you @vibeof100monkeys, though I don't think this falls into the short- or medium-term plans. But sure, I'll write lots of posts about it once I get closer.
Well you've planted the seed :)
Keep dreaming friend! Your dreams make great articles and make me dream as well. I have spent years doing dreaming of this type on our homestead, but I must admit your dreams seem so much more scientific and, well - DOABLE!