Environment

Pedestrians to generate power as they shop

by LotusFlower | June 8, 2008 at 01:52 pm

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This is a really neat idea if it can be made to work - we already know that the very act of walking rather than traveling by car etc is good for the environment but now it seems our very footfall can not only decrease our carbon footprint in this way but also be an alternative generator of power.

THE power of the wind and the tide have been harnessed – now the footfall of trudging shoppers is to become the latest source of emission-free energy.

Underfloor generators, powered by “heel strike” and designed by British engineers, may soon be installed in supermarkets and railway stations.

The technology could use the footsteps of pedestrians to power thousands of lightbulbs at shopping centres. It works by using the pressure of feet on the floor to compress pads underneath, driving fluid through mini-turbinesthat then generate electricity, which is stored in a battery.

Engineers who have modelled the effects of the technology at Victoria Underground station in central London have calculated that the 34,000travellers passing through every hour could power 6,500 lightbulbs.