Water?

I was challenged yesterday as to what the next big hardware technology could be – the BIG disintermediation.

Light bulbs are done. Cars are done. Post is done. Phone is done. etc.

Pondering it overnight I have decided that the most common item that is almost ubiquitous is the water tap.

Fed by gravity from local reservoirs on stilts or on top of hills, this technology hasn’t changed in yonks.

A lot of energy is used to pump that water up into those tanks.

For a start maybe there is a way to store excess solar energy in the water system by pumping the water up in the day and generating energy at night, especially if there is excess water capacity.

But also maybe there could be some new technology that can be used to update the point of use experience. I will ponder further.

There is also the sewerage system which works in reverse to water; waste flows to reservoirs at low point from where it is pumped out along pipes to treatment facilities. There is nothing to stop it being used to store excess solar energy along the way by pumping it up to elevated reservoirs for later release at night time for energy generation.

A lot of people dream of being off-grid as individuals but it may be more realistic to be off-grid as local communities, at least for electricity if not for water and waste water treatment. If this happens there is a lot of capital invested into electricity distribution networks that is going to be written off.