POWERleap creates natural energy charge using outside foot traffic
By Reagan Swaine, November 09
Staff Writer
Elizabeth Redmond, a recent graduate from Michigan State University, has made a large step in the direction of reducing carbon emissions as co-creator of the POWERleap.
POWERleap is a flooring system that generates electricity from human foot traffic. One person walking at an average speed for one hour produces 50 watts of energy. Redmond says that by taking POWERleap and installing it in areas that are exposed to heavy foot traffic, the 50 watts generated from every person can add up very quickly.
POWERleap works by applying pressure. George Petti, electrical engineer for Brookfield Renewable Power in Rocky Hill Connecticut, explains that by stepping on the floor panel, the piezoelectric plate that is built into the panel is stimulated, generating a charge that is sent to the battery. This energy is then harvested for electrical production.
Redmond explains that Piezoelectric energy is an energy source that can be created by applying pressure to substances that generate electricity when deformed. Substances like ceramics, crystals or some polymers are good examples.
“These substances have an electric charge only when force is applied,” says Redmond. When pressure and strain is put on these substances manipulating their structure, an electric charge is created.
POWERleap is a closed circuit system that harvests, stores and emits the piezoelectric energy that is generated through pressure. This system stores the energy exactly where it was created, explains Andrew Katz, the director of Business Development for the POWERleap.
Redmond says that if POWERleap were installed in the floor of an airport, the energy generated from the pressure of the foot-traffic could be used to power the electrical systems within the building. This electricity can be used to power exit signs, light switches, elevators, computers and other various objects within the public infrastructure that require small amounts of energy. By installing POWERleap in streets, city traffic could power its own streetlights or a nightclub could power its own music with POWERleap installed as the dance floor.
Since the development of this system in 2006, Redmond and a team of engineers have been working to install this system in airport terminals, train stations, dance clubs, sidewalks, parks and many other locations that are exposed to heavy foot traffic.
Petti says, “The piezoelectric energy that is produced by POWERleap is particularly viable because it can be efficiently dispersed within yards of where it is generated.”
Energy is more efficient when it is dispersed locally.
“How much more local can energy be than when it is produced within an arms length?” says Petti.
Engineers like Petti and Redmond believe that within a generation they can help turn the country’s carbon footprint into an energy footprint with the help of POWERleap.
For more information on POWERleap, go to Redmon’s website at www.elizabethredmond.net.
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