Kinetic energy is often overlooked when we talk about renewable energy sources but if we stop and think about it for a minute, the modern world is constantly on the move. So how can we harness this movement into something sustainable for the future?
Smart pavements could be the answer, electromagnetic pressure pads that are compressed as people walk (or even drive) over them generating energy that can be stored or used immediately. The options for these smart pavements are endless; shopping centres, sports stadiums, densely populated cities and even high use areas such as train stations all could be powered in the future by the people who are using them.
Pavegen a leader in the field estimate they can generate 2-4 joules of energy per foot step which in a highly pedestrianised area could power the streetlights off grid all night but the opportunities don't end there. Take yesterday's blog on big data for example, shopping centres will be able to actively measure their footfall from the data consumed by the tiles, this coupled with the generation of energy for the shopping centre creates a more sustainable smarter future.
What next then for kinetic energy? Could these pavements be turned to roads or entire streets? Could a gym harness the power generated by it's members to become an off grid virtual power station? Maybe, the future is in wireless charging powered by kinetic energy harnessing tiles but we'll leave that for another blog...
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