The concept of hydro power generation is not new. It has been used since the middle ages to power large saw mills and pump water out of aqueducts. What we have done with our waterwheel is that we put the generator under the downspout, but even in a city that rains as much as Vancouver we didn’t expect the water wheel to output such an insignificant amount of electricity.

 

In our hydrodynamic calculations, we discovered that in average rainfall, an average sized house will generate around 4.5 Watts of electricity if the gutter generator functions at 90% efficiency. Our system generated 1.3 Watts at peak efficiency, less than 1/3rd of the predicted amount. Efficiency wise, using a gutter generator isn’t optimal.

 

The gutter generator isn’t cost - effective either. As we've already talked about in the discussion, we spent around $45 on the entire project. To achieve the same thing a person may spend less money into constructing such a device. Nevertheless, a $15 solar panel will generate more power than our hydroelectric generator. Unless you live in a place where it rains more often than it’s sunny, the gutter generator will never be more efficient that a solar panel, even if the generator is 100% efficient. It’s just not feasible, economically or practically. We should really have researched this topic further before just deciding on it, because, in Earth’s current climate, such a device will never produce any significant amount of energy. 

 

Despite that, Thomas Edison famously puts that he “didn’t fail. [He] just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. Even though the energy from our gutter generator can be stored and potentially accumulate into significant amounts, we know that “free energy” from rain alone will not be sufficient to power your home.