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Good Vibrations? California to Test Using Road Rumbles as a Power Source. Most energy harvesting schemes are on a human scale, like using your swinging arms to power a wristwatch or your dancing legs to power a nightclub’s sound-and-light show.

Good Vibrations? California to Test Using Road Rumbles as a Power Source

Why not go big by harvesting the road vibrations caused by cars and trucks? That’s the idea behind California’s newly funded experiment to turn road rumble into watts. It would rely on piezoelectric crystals, which produce a bit of current when you squeeze them. Such crystals are often used in audio equipment to turn sounds into signals or vice-versa, but if you put enough of them together, they could run streetlights, sensors, and other useful highway equipment. A total of US $2.3 million will be invested in two projects. If the experiment proves out, California state officials say the system would be expanded to other roads. The problem is that nothing, not even waste energy, comes for free. It’s all been tried before.

#BoulderPiezoElectricProject

Piezoelectric Roads in California. Rex Garland April 26, 2013 Submitted as coursework for PH240, Stanford University, Fall 2012 Introduction Alternative energy will become increasingly important as fossil fuel supplies inevitably run out or environmental damage sparks consumer awareness.

Piezoelectric Roads in California

The search for a viable energy alternative will continue until these alternatives can address the dynamic demands of the electrical grid and storage limitations. Piezoelectric devices, used for harvesting the vibrational energy of roads and walkways due to traffic, can produce electrical energy that is predictable (based on traffic patterns), and locally storable. Piezoelectric devices generate electrical energy by means of a piezoelectric crystal. Capacity This overestimation provides an appropriate upper bound to the amount of energy absorbed by piezoelectric devices from one car moving across a one kilometer strip (i.e. no more than 1.5 MJ). Profitability Conclusion © Rex Garland. References [1] K. . [2] "Annual Energy Review 2011," U.S. CEC-500-2013-007. A New Source of Energy: Harnessing Ourselves. This merry-go-round captures the energy from spinning in order to power lights.

A New Source of Energy: Harnessing Ourselves

We had to smile when we came across the website of Empower Playgrounds. They provide electricity-generating playground equipment that is used in rural Ghanaian schools to both produce light and teach children about energy. If you’ve ever spent time around a playground, you know how much time kids spend running, jumping, spinning, and sliding. Imagine capturing the energy output from the teeter-totters, swings, or merry-go-rounds across the U.S.! Power-Generating Floor (TM) tiles at the Kokuyo headquarters. Electric Roads for California.

Electric Roads for California (11)Feb-17-11 California assemblyman Mike Gatto has proposed a bill to use piezoelectricity to generate energy for use in the California electric grid.

Electric Roads for California

Piezoelectricity is the charge that accumulates in response to applied mechanical strain, such as the vibrations of vehicles driving on roads. The piezoelectric sensors are inexpensive and can be installed during regular repaving. When utilized on a single lane, two mile stretch of road, the sensors could produce up to 44 megawatts of electricity each year, which is enough to power 30,800 home for a year. Bill Uses California Traffic To Fuel EVs Instead Of Road Rage. Traffic Jam It's ironic that as the world becomes more interconnected, America is trying to become more independent.

Bill Uses California Traffic To Fuel EVs Instead Of Road Rage

Nowhere is that more obvious than in our energy policy, where we talk a lot about the dangers of depending on foreign oil and the importance of generating our own energy. California studies how to convert road vibrations from cars to usable energy. Did you know that it is possible to convert road vibrations into electric energy?

California studies how to convert road vibrations from cars to usable energy

And better yet, we might soon be using this technology throughout the state? Meet AB 306, a measure requiring California to study the use of piezoelectric transducers, a new technology than can convert road vibrations from cars and trucks into usable electrical energy. Soon AB 306 may be coming to a road near you. Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) of the 43rd District sponsored the measure. As Gatto explains, “The power can be stored and used to power lights, signs, call boxes, electric vehicles, and perhaps even homes within a few miles of the freeway.” So just how does the science behind California AB 306 work? If Governor Brown signs the bill, it will require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to collaborate with the Department of Transportation to conduct the study.

Image: neilarmstrong2/Flickr. Piezoelectric Roads in Israel and California: Powering Up Cities as You Drive : The Environmental Blog. Posted by Christian Crisostomo on March 25, 2012 · 5 Comments - Last modified: May 25, 2013 Photo Credit: heijmans.nl Development of roads and highways are just some of the most common construction projects that a city experiences every year.

Piezoelectric Roads in Israel and California: Powering Up Cities as You Drive : The Environmental Blog

Even if there are no new roads to build and pave, maintaining other roads in working order is still an important task. New Bill Could Allow California to Harness Power Otherwise Lost as Cars Travel Over Pavement. We’ve been presenting over time how piezoelectric devices could harness energy from different sources, and I think we were right supporting this technology.

New Bill Could Allow California to Harness Power Otherwise Lost as Cars Travel Over Pavement

The following is a Press Release sent to us by California Assemblyman Mike Gatto, who proposed a new bill that will implement piezoelectric technology already in use in Italy and Israel to harness energy from road vibrations. “Hybrid vehicles capture the energy lost while slowing down a vehicle and use that energy to power the car independently from the engine for significant stretches of time. But what if we could capture the energy lost as all automobiles move along a stretch of pavement and place that power into the electrical grid?

A bill by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) would do just that. Cutting-Edge Technology Championed by Calif. Assemblyman Gatto Gets Strong Support in California Energy Commission Study - California Newswire. SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Cutting-Edge Technology Championed by Calif. Assemblyman Gatto Gets Strong Support in California Energy Commission Study - California Newswire

/California Newswire/ — According to a news announcement today from Assemblyman Mike Gatto, shortly after being elected, Gatto (D-Los Angeles) had a conversation with a friend who had just returned from Israel. Expecting to hear emotional descriptions of religious sites, Gatto was surprised to hear his friend rave instead about a road that produced energy. After putting aside his credulity and researching the issue, Gatto found that engineers in Israel, Italy, and Japan had successfully installed piezoelectric sensors underneath roadways and railways. The technique uses tiny devices that look like watch batteries, embedded in pavement, to recapture energy that would be otherwise lost as vehicles rumble along.

The energy from the tiny vibrations can be converted into electricity to power roadside lights, call boxes, and neighboring communities. This is particularly impressive, especially considering that this energy is currently uncaptured, and therefore wasted. Assemblyman Gatto wins funding for initial piezoelectric test. Interesting press release from Mike Gatto: After two years of work, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) has found a new partner in the fight for green transportation and domestically produced alternative energy.

Assemblyman Gatto wins funding for initial piezoelectric test

Building on an idea of Gatto’s, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced that it will fund preliminary research on the potential of using California’s roadways to generate green electricity. The research will focus on the large-scale energy-harvesting capabilities of piezoelectric materials, which are currently used in everything from lighters to smart phones. The research stems from a bill authored by Gatto, AB 306, which passed the legislature in 2011 with bipartisan support but was vetoed by Governor Brown because of a lack of funding for the project. In the veto message, the Governor encouraged Gatto to work through the CEC’s grant process to obtain funding for the project, and a year later, the assemblyman has successfully secured the funding.

Like this: Gatto’s Piezoelectric Technology Bill Passes to Governor - AD43 - Assemblymember Mike Gatto Representing the 43rd California Assembly District. Assemblyman Gatto wins funding for initial piezoelectric test.