Piezo Power!

[Ted Crocker]

From Good Technology

Electricity Generating Dance Floors and Other Miracles of Piezoelectricity

Even if the planet doubled the amount of solar and wind power available tomorrow, there would still be a shortage of clean electricity. We need to grab energy from wherever we can find it, which is why piezoelectricity—the charge that gathers in solid materials like crystal and ceramic in response to strain—has recently begun to pique the interest of entrepreneurs and scientists alike.

A number of materials are piezoelectric, including topaz, quartz, cane sugar, and tourmaline. That means a charge begins accumulating inside these materials when pressure is applied. Piezoelectrics are already commonly used in a number of applications. Quartz clocks, for example, rely on piezoelectricity for power, as do many sensors, lighters, and actuators. But these are the old uses for piezoelectricity. Scientists today have much more interesting piezoelectric plans in mind.

One of the most popular uses for piezoelectricity in the past few years relies on roads and sidewalks. It all started in 2008 with Club Watt, a dance spot in the Netherlands dubbed the world's first sustainable dance club. The club installed piezoelectric materials in its dance floor to turn patrons' moves into electricity that is used to change the color of the floor's surface.

After Club Watt, the piezoelectric floors kept coming. A Tokyo railway station installed a piezoelectric floor that uses kinetic energy to generate 1,400 kW of energy per day—enough to power ticket gates and displays. Toulouse, France, recently became the first city to put pressure-sensitive piezoelectric modules on the sidewalk, generating enough energy to power streetlamps. And the United Kingdom plans to install power-generating tiles on London streets to light up bus stops and pedestrian crossings.

Piezoelectrics are also increasingly becoming common on roads. In 2009, a British supermarket installed kinetic road plates that collect energy from customers driving over road bumps in the store parking lot. The road plates are pushed down by vehicle weight, which creates a rocking motion that turns generators. The system is used to power the supermarket's checkout lines.

In Israel, a company called Innowattech is installing strips of asphalt embedded with piezoelectric materials. According to the company, the generators could produce 1 MWh of electricity from a four lane highway, or enough to power 2,500 homes.

The technology just keeps getting better, too. Last year, Princeton University researchers combined silicone and nanoribbons of lead zirconate titanate to create PZT, an ultra-efficient piezoelectric material that can convert up to 80 percent of mechanical energy into electricity. PZT is 100 times more efficient than quartz. It's so efficient, in fact, that the material could be used to harness energy from the minute vibrations found in items like shoes and clothing. That means a piezoelectric-equipped shirt could potentially charge up your cell phone after a day of  activity.

Piezoelectric sidewalks, roads, and clothing items haven't taken off in a big way quite yet, but they probably will soon. As we become more reliant on having fully-charged gadgets with us at all times, a shirt or pair of shoes that can prevent a device from dying will be incredibly valuable.

 

 

 

 

 

[jim]

Good luck with that

[John Wendell]

makes me feel like a scientist....installing these things in cigar boxes!

[Skeesix]

Love it! I've been looking at ways to lower energy bills, because they're only going to get higher. The best way is currently to insulate well and conserve. I just paid off a 5 year home improvement loan on new windows, insulation and siding. Wind and solar aren't there yet for the homeowner unless the govt. wants to provide incentives, like Germany.

Nikola Tesla (the guy who invented AC current and, I assume, the namesake for the Tesla Transducer) had worked out a way to get electricity out of the air, but the secret seems to have died with him.

It may be that a combination of devices - wind, solar, piezo shirts, and what-not will be the ultimate solution.

[Richard Stark]

I still say the best way to generate power will be goats on treadmill like devices. By 2035 every home will have a really slim goat jogging on a treadmill in their garage to keep the lights heat an the ol ladys vibrator runnin.

[Richard Stark]

.PS Contact Me if You'd like to buy a goat. Cheap.

[jim]

GOAT POWER!!!

[Ted Crocker]

Prototype piezoelectric road could generate power by simply sitting there

By Darren Murph  posted Dec 13th 2008 1:20PM

By sitting there and getting ran over by motorcars, that is. In an effort to best other power-generating highway options that involve solar panels and enlarged blender arms, Britain's Environmental Transport Association is looking to test a prototype highway that's embedded with piezoelectric crystals. Essentially, the process would work much like the power-generating Tokyo station floors we saw earlier this week; each car that squishes a crystal would contribute a tiny bit of energy, and the collective effect could be enormous. In fact, it's estimated that a single kilometer of roadway could generate 400-kilowatts of energy, or enough to power around eight small cars. 

[Ted Crocker]

Piezoelectrics installed in Tokyo railway station floors generate power, wastes it

By Laura June  posted Dec 11th 2008 3:56PM

The East Japan Railway Company has been running tests on a "power-generating floor" since the beginning of January 2007, but they've just installed the system for public testing in several areas of the Tokyo station. Using piezoelectrics similar to that we've seen before in a UK discotheque, the Japanese company says the power-generating capacity of the flooring has increased ten-fold over its initial results, and they now expect to generate 1,400kW/sec per day. With that, they plan to power the display pictured above, which shows the power generatd by the floor. Sound a little redundant? Fear not: they plan on using the juice to operate automatic ticket gates in the future. 

[Via Inhabitat]

[Ted Crocker]

Supermarket generates piezoelectric power in parking lot

By Joseph L. Flatley  posted Jun 15th 2009 10:46AM

Remember that piezoelectric road prototype we saw late last year? Looks like someone (besides us) thought it was a good idea. According to The Daily Mail, a Sainsbury's supermarket in Gloucester, UK (you've never been there), has installed kinetic plates in the parking lot that use the weight of shopper's cars to pump a series of hydraulic pipes, which in turn drive a generator. The system is said to generate up to 30kw of energy an hour -- or enough to power the store's checkouts. And if that weren't enough, the store is also harvesting rainwater and heating it (during the summer, at least) with solar panels. The next in this store's "eco-friendly evolution?" Might we suggest Soylent in the deli? We hear the "green" stuff is particularly good.

[Via Green Launches, Thanks Deepa]

[Ted Crocker]

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting

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By artfuldodger

The exponential growth of the "alternative energy" industry in the last few years shows great promise in regards to the energy independence of the United States. For awhile now, the energy responsible for our success has been provided by fossil fuels; petroleum, natural gas, coal, etc. But we all realize that these are finite resources and the energy source that will power our future success lies elsewhere. The future of sustainable, clean power lies in other, more abstract opportunities. Wind, of course, is a viable option. Solar, indeed, will also play a part. Tidal Wave is yet another viable method. Geothermal is particularly appealing due to its simplicity: basically stick a pipe in the ground, and you're done. Well, there's more to it but you get my drift. My favorite that I've been reading about lately is called Piezoelectric energy harvesting.

Sidewalk Power Generator?

What is it?

So generally Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting is based upon thepiezoelectric effect. Yeah, I know. Real ground breaking stuff. The essence of the piezoelectric effect works as follows: by applying a mechanical stress to a crystal, one can generate a voltage or potential energy difference, and thus a current. Also by applying a current to a piezoelectric one can stress or strain the material. The mechanical stress can be supplied by any source. But with so many people walking around from place to place, why not harness that kinetic energy to power stuff, right?

Shoe Dynamo

How Is This Energy Harnessed?

So with the basic idea layed out, how can this phenomenon be but to use in generating electricity. A lot of ways. One highly viable option is to lay piezoelectric crystal arrays underneath sidewalks, stairwells, and pretty much any other high traffic area to power street lights or whatever else you care to plug in. The armed forces toyed with the idea of putting piezoelectric materials in soldiers boots to power radios and other portable electronic gear. This turned out to be not feasible with current technology at the present time due to the extra weight and discomfort of the setup, but it may be possible later on. Several nightclubs, mostly in Europe have already begun to power their strobes and stereos using the force of hundreds of people pounding on piezoelectric lined dancefloors. Several gyms, notable in Portland and a few other places are powered by a comination of piezoelectric set ups and generators set up on stationary bikes. We're really just looking at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the uses of human kinetic energy of people in motion to create energy.

Gyms Can Generate Their Own Energy

More To Come

Every week some new discovery concerning uses of piezoelectric energy is uncovered. Even though the idea has been around for awhile, in microphones, amplifiers, and other applications, electricity production in this area is in its infancy. One cool idea concerns piezoelectric nanowires embedded in clothing to create energy.

People Powered Dance Club in Holland

A Final Word On Energy Harvesting

In the near future, the lights at your favorite coffee shop or the stereo system at your local bar could very well be powered by foot traffic. If we want to maintain a certain lifestyle in an increasingly competitive, resource strapped world, we need to think outside the box when it comes to energy production. There are a million sources of clean, environmentally conscious power all around us, we just have to explore and utilize these sources in the most effecient manner possible. Ambient energy capture will no doubt play a large part in the future of renewable energy, and there's no time like the present to work on developing new, innovative means of electricity generation. I feel confident in saying that the world of tommorow looks pretty bright, both literally and figuratively.

[Skeesix]

I vote for hamsters, running on their little wheels all night long - wearing piezo jogging suits...