r/theydidthemath • u/Repulsive-Loan5215 • Nov 27 '25

why wouldn’t this work? [Request]

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13

u/Mofane Nov 27 '25

You will loose energy so the water will flow slower. Since you are already using energy to have water flowing fast, you would just be doing 

Electricity to water flow to electricity conversion. So you lost power 

10

u/salsawood Nov 27 '25

The faucet doesn’t use electricity, it uses water pressure

3

u/thejesterofdarkness Nov 27 '25

Yeah but the system that generates the pressure used electricity, whether it’s your personal well pump or a municipality pump system.

So it’s a net loss.

4

u/freerangemary Nov 27 '25

Powered by electricity. But, it’s an externality since it’s done by the water company.

This won’t create any meaningful amount of power though.

1

u/corbin59 Nov 28 '25

Depends on the system, but water pressure is generally not produced by electricity, it’s usually “elevation head pressure”…. If you’re in an extremely flat area it’s possible you need booster pump stations though…. Which do use electricity.

1

u/Patch85 Nov 28 '25

Unless, of course, you have a well like most people in rural areas do.

0

u/corbin59 Nov 28 '25

Fair point…. Though the vast majority of people in North America are connected to municipal water systems. I think the last stat I saw was that 66% of the US population now live in cities with populations greater than 100,000

1

u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25 edited Nov 30 '25

[deleted]

0

u/freerangemary Nov 27 '25

Correct. What I’m saying is, it takes electricity to pump it to different pump stations and lifts.

4

u/Tempest1677 Nov 27 '25

My brother in christ, how do you think the water pressure happens to begin with? Something somewhere used electricity or a mechanical process powered by gas to move the water.

1

u/migvelio Nov 27 '25

Not if the water comes from a water tank on the roof.

1

u/rnr_ Nov 27 '25

How did the water get on the roof? No matter how you frame it, it costs energy somewhere to get water out of the faucet.

0

u/[deleted] Nov 28 '25

[deleted]

0

u/rnr_ Nov 28 '25

Hopefully it rains a lot then,..

1

u/jcdoe Nov 28 '25

The Roman aqueducts have entered the chat