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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The question goes something like this: How many toilet flushes does it take to power a light bulb?
There's really no answer, but Salt Lake City is exploring a pilot project that would convert sewer waste into energy to run a heating a cooling system in a downtown building, city water department official Jeff Niermeyer said.
It sounds gross, but should be perfectly sanitary.
The heat, Niermeyer explains, will come partly from solid waste, and mostly from warm water that runs in sewage pipes after draining out of toilets, showers and sinks.
The sewage temperature -- between 55 and 60 degrees -- combined with a constant ground temperature of about 55 provides a viable ground source for a heat-pump system.
Simply put, the system would transfer energy from one place to another.
Attorney John Lear's new offices in the Major George Downey Mansion will be the testing ground for the system. Lear, who specializes in gas and oil law, stumbled upon the idea last year while investigating alternatives to traditional heating and cooling systems.
He first approached officials about using city culinary water. They rejected that idea and suggested sewage lines instead.
The system should sufficiently heat and cool Lear's 8,000-square-foot building about 95 percent of the time. For the remainder, Lear will pool 1,800 gallons of water in the basement, also using the water to irrigate the building's lawn.
It's a bit expensive -- the system costs $20,000 more than traditional systems -- but if it works well, Lear hopes it could be eventually used by the masses.
The city is helping with some costs, paying $10,000 to install a steel pipe to connect the sewer to the building's system.
City officials are intrigued by the system because it promises to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
"There's a lot more people getting to believe that the greenhouse-gas effect is really impacting our climate," Niermeyer said. "We're going to have to think of more creative ways to wean ourselves off of hydrocarbons and (still) enjoy the quality of life we want to enjoy. It's going to be (by) capturing these other alternative-energy sources."
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
