Elizabeth Redmond of POWERLeap on piezo power for large cities

Elizabeth Redmond envisions cities that do local power generation by using piezo plates that harness power of people moving around. A grander version of exercise gyms that power themselves. From "Next World" on the Science channel.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• piezo
• power
• powerleap
• city
• local-power
• generation

[arunkumar8619]

I want to do this as a project for my academic... Any inputs please..?

[benxamin]

Just put them under roads, where you have variable loads all day long. Not so good at night...

Or maybe under a shoreline where the lapping waves make energy consistently.

[blastamos]

@gulllars watt = joule / second

[professeur62]

I shall like I shall assure distribution in France

 That it is the address of the purveyor.

[gulllars]

I have a guestion, what's a ballpark figure for the ammount of energy produced in one step on one tile? I'm talking joules, and at what voltage.

If they can create double digit joules from each step they could be interresting. The power to light the leds in the board doesn't have to be more than a watt or two (watt = joule*second), so them lighting up doesn't proove much more than there actually being currents induced.

[gulllars]

@rexroof The ting making you tired from walking on the beach is your footsteps deforming the sand. These plates move a few millimeters (fractions of an inch) and the surface does not deform, so it will basically be like walking on a hard surface at 0,1 degree upphill, or lifting your foot a tiny bit higher with each step.

[rexroof]

I also wonder about the hidden energy loss. What I mean is, think about walking on a beach. It's very tiring to walk on a surface that isn't completely solid. I notice those plates move slightly. I wonder if you'd be worn out quicker if every step you took wasn't on completely solid ground.

[NateN34]

Wouldn't those things wear out over time? Then the cost of replacing them probably wouldn't be worth the energy produced.