Renewable energy Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.[2] Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: electricity generation, hot water/space heating, motor fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services.[3] About 16% of global final energy consumption presently comes from renewable resources, with 10% [4] of all energy from traditional biomass, mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from hydroelectricity. New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) account for another 3% and are growing rapidly.[5] At the national level, at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20% of energy supply. Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to other energy sources, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Overview
Tokyo Train Station Testing Power-Generating Floor Clean Power Published on December 4th, 2008 | by Ariel Schwartz Yesterday, we took a look at how piezoelectrics— crystals or ceramics that generate voltage when mechanical stress is applied— could allow cell phones to be powered by sound waves. Now the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has announced that it is installing piezoelectric elements in the floors of its Tokyo station in an attempt to generate power from passengers passing through ticket gates. JR East will begin its experiment on December 10 and continue it until February 2009. The power-generating floor will cover an area of 25m squared and will be installed at 7 ticket gates and 7 staircase steps inside the gate. The company expects the floors to produce 1,400 kW/sec each day. For another example of a piezoelectric floor, check out London’s Bar Surya. Photo Credit: Altus via flickr under a Creative Commons License Tags: Japan, piezoelectric, tokyo, train, train station About the Author
Pavegen, Former ID Student's Electricity-Generating Floor Tile, Gaining Traction Several years ago, British entrepreneur Laurence Kemball-Cook built his first Pavegen electricity generating prototype while studying Industrial Design & Technology at Loughborough University. The Pavegen is a floor tile, similar in concept to (though developed independently of) the Sustainable Dance Floor from the Netherlands. Like that product, it captures electricity generated by footfalls, making it an ideal way to generate power from nothing more than people walking over it. In December of last year the Pavegen began real-world trials at a grammar school in Kent, and now Kemball-Cook has received his first commercial order for the system: The new Westfield Stratford City Shopping Centre in East London plans to roll out a grid of Pavegens to power the lighting. "30 million shoppers a year = great for Pavegen!" With tops surfaced in 100% recycled truck tires, the Pavegens are designed to withstand outdoor punishment. You can learn more about the Pavegen and how it works here.
New Bill Could Allow California to Harness Power Otherwise Lost as Cars Travel Over Pavement Workers installing road piezoelectric devices We’ve been presenting over time how piezoelectric devices could harness energy from different sources, and I think we were right supporting this technology. 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? The technology, called “piezoelectric generation,” can produce as much as 44 megawatts of electricity per year from one single-lane, one-kilometer stretch of roadway — enough to power 30,800 homes for a year.
Pavegen tiles harvest energy from footsteps Pavegen tiles harvest kinetic energy from pedestrian traffic Image Gallery (6 images) Can you imagine the power of 50,000 steps a day? Well, Laurence Kembell-Cook, the director of Pavegen Systems imagined it and created Pavegen tiles - a low carbon solution that aims to bring kinetic energy harvesting to the streets. Not surprisingly, the tile is receiving a great deal of attention as a solution for power-hungry cities with a lot of walking traffic. View all Designed for use in in high foot-traffic areas, the tiles convert the kinetic energy from footsteps of pedestrians into renewable electricity, which can be stored in a lithium polymer battery or used to power low-wattage, off-grid applications like street lighting, displays, speakers, alarms, signs, and advertising. The tiles are made from nearly 100-percent recycled materials (mostly rubber) and some marine grade stainless steel. Here's the company's product demo: Post a CommentRelated Articles
California highways may soon produce their own power For many people, the sight of Los Angeles freeways during rush hour is a striking reminder of how rampant our fuel consuming ways have become. But one elected state official sees the waves of congestion and traffic instead as an opportunity to produce energy. Last week, California state assemblyman Mike Gatto, proposed a bill to retrofit some of the state's highways with a technology that captures the ambient energy generated by moving cars and converts it into electricity. The idea came about during a conversation with one of his friends who, upon returning from a trip to Israel, informed him about the useful ways the technology was being implemented there. "My friend said, 'The coolest thing I saw was a road that generates power. The technology is based on a principle called the piezoelectric effect, in which certain materials have the ability to build up an electrical charge from having pressure and strain applied to them. Photo: StockXchng Related on SmartPlanet:
Sustainable Engineering Detroit TrueTrac® Differential Differentials - What Are They? In powered axles, gears that deliver torque from the drive shaft to the left and right axle half - shafts separately. They allow the left and right wheels to turn at different road speeds when turning (thus the term "differential"), so that neither wheel has to scuff. Conventional "open" differentials tend to equalize the torque delivered through both wheels. Thus if one wheel loses traction - "spins out" on snow, mud, sand, or gravel - it delivers very little power to the ground (power = torque x RPM, so if torque goes to 0, so does power). In an open differential, the following rule applies: The average speed of the two axles is equal to the speed of the ring gear. This means is one wheel is on glare ice and the other on the dry ground, the wheel on the ice can spin twice as fast as the ring gear, or as indicated by your speedometer. Spool Locking Automatic Manual Limited Slip Friction/clutches Geared Differentials - Open Type TrueTrac® Operation: