Primary Objective
Commissioned by the International Carbon Bank & Exchange (ICBE), this case study explores the viability of "pico-scale" Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) for residential use. The primary objective is to identify technology breakthrough opportunities and the potential for a $10,000 "XPRIZE" sponsored by CarbonSolutions.com to incentivize decentralized energy storage innovation.
Hydropower Storage Overview
Pumped storage hydropower currently accounts for 93% of all utility-scale energy storage in the United States. While utility-scale plants typically use "open-loop" systems connected to natural flowing bodies of water, "closed-loop" projects utilize artificial reservoirs to store energy from intermittent wind and solar. Our research pivots this utility-scale concept to the home level, investigating if artificial residential reservoirs—such as swimming pools or IBC totes—can effectively store renewable energy.
Technology Demonstration: 330 Gallon IBC Tote
The following data represents a baseline demonstration of gravity-fed water energy storage using a standard 330-gallon IBC tote at a height of 4.5 feet.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Volume (V) | 330 Gallons (~1,249 Liters) |
| Head Height (h) | 4.5 Feet (~1.37 Meters) |
| Total Energy (Joules) | 16,756 J |
| Theoretical Storage | 4.65 Watt-hours (Wh) |
| Turbine Efficiency (n) | 74% |
| Power Capacity | 163.78 Watts |
Case Study Comparison: Residential Scaling
To assess the impact of scaling, we compared the pico-scale demo to a standard 30,000-gallon swimming pool at a 12-foot height.
- Energy Storage: A 30k gallon pool at 12 feet stores approximately 1,128.4 Wh (1.13 kWh).
- Run-Time: At a discharge flow rate of 0.0165 m³/s, the system provides roughly 1.9 hours of power.
- Comparison: This is roughly 1/12th the capacity of a Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh).
Conclusion
While pico-scale systems like the IBC tote demo show very limited storage capacity (4.65 Wh), residential scaling to swimming pools or specialized high-head cisterns could provide meaningful "peaking" power for small electronics or emergency lighting. Future breakthroughs in low-head turbine efficiency and micro-inverter integration are essential for home-scale hydro to compete with chemical battery storage.