We go to the bathroom four times a day. Each time, we flush about 9 liters of water into the pipes and disappear from our lives. That's about 36 liters per person per day. 13.000 liters per yearWater that falls, presses, flows and then dissolves in the sewer system without leaving a trace. Kushagra Aditya Jha, 17 years old, looked at that home waterfall and saw something else: wasted energy. So he built HydroSan, a micro-turbine that installs in the toilet tank and transforms every flush into electricity. Twenty uses are enough to recharge a power bank or turn on a few LEDs. The invention earned him the CREST Gold Award of British Science AssociationBut above all, it could change the lives of millions of people in Indian villages where electricity is an intermittent luxury. A concrete example of how energy savings can arise in the most unexpected places in the home.
A turbine where no one had put it
The idea started from a banal observation: The water from the drain has enough force to move objects, turn mechanisms, generate movement. Yet that energy was wasted four times a day, per person, in every home with a toilet.
Kushagra designed a micro-turbine small enough to fit in the toilet tank, yet robust enough to withstand daily use. The device intercepts the flow of water during flushing and converts it into mechanical energy. This energy powers a small battery built into the system. Even when the toilet isn't being used, a thin trickle of water continues to drive the turbine, producing a constant current.
As the inventor himself explains in an interview with The Hindu, The system does not require structural modifications to the existing plumbing systemIt plugs in, works, produces. No expensive work, no complex technology. It's a plug-and-play solution for home energy savings that anyone can install without calling a technician. Simplicity is probably its greatest strength.
With about twenty discharges, HydroSan produces enough energy to recharge a small power bank or power some LED bulbs for several hours.
It's not much, but in situations where electricity is lacking or intermittent, those watts make the difference between complete darkness and a light on.
Domestic micro-hydroelectricity already exists
The idea of exploit small flows of water to produce energy It's not new. Pico-hydroelectric plants have been around for years and operate with low flow rates, even just half a liter per second, and headwaters of just a few meters. They are mainly used in isolated areas, far from the electricity grid, where they represent a practical solution for energy self-sufficiency.The difference with HydroSan is the scale: you don't need a stream, you don't need a watercourse. A toilet is enough.
The technical principle is the same: moving water drives a turbine, the turbine turns an alternator, and the alternator produces electricity. In the case of HydroSan, everything is miniaturized to fit into a domestic context. The turbine is small, the battery has limited capacity, but the system works and is self-powered. Micro-hydroelectric it literally becomes accessible to everyone, even those who don't have a stream in their garden.
Where light is lacking, ingenuity is needed
Kushagra's invention wasn't born in a lab. It was born out of necessity. In India, millions of people still live without constant access to electricity. Infrastructure is improving, but In mountain villages and remote areas, power outages are the norm, not the exception.In that context, even a small, independent energy source can make a difference. A lamp on at night, a charged phone for calls, a working radio. Things we take for granted in the city.
Kushagra thought about this when he designed HydroSan. He didn't want to create a gadget, he wanted solve a real problemEnergy saving, in this case, isn't an abstract environmental issue. It's practical survival. It's the ability to study even after the sun has set. It's keeping a medical device on at night. It's not depending on a power grid that doesn't work or doesn't work well.
The young inventor now hopes to patent the system and improve its efficiency. The goal is to bring HydroSan to the Indian military and border regions, where access to electricity is limited and operating conditions require autonomous solutions. But the potential extends beyond India's borders.
Self-production of energy at discharge level
The trend towards theenergy self-production It's growing everywhere. Solar panels on rooftops, mini wind turbines in gardens, home batteries for energy storage. The idea is always the same: reduce dependence on the centralized electricity grid and exploit locally available resources.HydroSan adds a piece to this puzzle. It doesn't replace photovoltaics, nor does it compete with wind power. It simply recovers energy from an existing flow that, until now, had been completely ignored.
Energy saving, after all, starts right here: by stopping wasting what we already have. Every time we push the flush button, we waste kinetic energy amidst general indifference. Kushagra has demonstrated that this waste can be stopped. All it takes is a small turbine, a battery, and the will to look at your bathroom with a fresh eye.
We may not all become self-sufficient thanks to the toilet. But in a world desperately seeking sustainable energy solutions, even the smallest contribution deserves attention. Especially if it comes from a seventeen-year-old who has understood a simple fact: energy isn't created from nothing, but can be recovered from places no one looks. And sometimes, that "where" is the most banal place in the house.
The question now is simple: if a 17-year-old boy managed to transform a chasse d'eau into a generator, how many other sources of domestic energy are we still wasting without realizing it?
