Piezoelectricity are solid materials that release a charge when pressure is applied to them. Right now people are coming up with brilliant ways to gather renewable energy. Piezoelectricy could also possibly pick up the slack that solar and wind leave behind allowing for a truly sustainable world. People as of now are just starting to use this technology. In 2008 a dance club called Club Watt became fully self sufficient. They used piezoelectric materials in the dance floor tiles, so when someone was dancing force would be applied and generate power. In Tokyo there is a train station that added a piezoelectric floor to generate 1,400 kW on a daily basis. In Toulouse, France, they added a piezoelectric sidewalk to generate power for street lights. In London people are planning to do the same, but light up crossings and stop signs. At a supermarket in the UK these used the energy from people crossing speed bumps to power their check-out lines. In Israel, they are starting to mix asphalt and the piezoelectric minerals together, so when people drive around they will generate electricity, there should energy generated this way to provide for over 2,000 homes. In the future there should even be more ways of generate power, one hope would be clothes with piezoelectric materials.
Reflection: I am really happy that we are exploring options for a cleaner future. I was thinking though what would happen if we added these types of sidewalks in every street instead of the normal cement ones, and added the smart roads to generate power on the roads. If you could also add solar panels to houses and businesses, then I am pretty darn sure that place would be self sufficient. It just seems a little crazy that if we have technology to make clean energy on a large scale, why don't we. There are also so many other ways to get energy like scavenger energy that steals power from radio/television waves, it is sort like recycling. I just hope there is a push in America soon to make more clean energy.
Questions
If you were the Mayor of Philadelphia would you switch to road and sidewalks to generate electricity?
Do you think that this way of getting power is better or worse than other methods?
Would you want one of these sidewalks around your house?
What a wonderful thing! This is renewable as long as there are energy-using people walking about. These should be installed everywhere! I recall these being mentioned in class, during that glorious green-energy collective rant. I didn't know, however, from the conversation (which we really should have taped) that it generated so much power, or for that matter, that it has been around since 2008! It makes me wonder why it isn't popular here!
ReplyDelete1. Are these materials rare or expensive? Because that may be a possible reason why they are not in wide use.
2. They are used to power street lights and check-out lines. This makes me wonder if they produce a somewhat limited amount of electricity. How many people and of what weight and how often would be sufficient to power an entire city? Would that be practical?
3. How is the energy generated collected? Does it, like many other energy sources, somehow result in the spinning of turbines?
Wow! This is probably one of the most creative and innovative alternative energy solutions.If we were to have this in our cities, they would be able to generate so much energy.Imagine the amount of steps all of the people take in the big cities in our cities. Everyday I walk to and from my bus stop and I would be able to create a lot of energy with all of the step that I take everyday.Schools are always a great place to put piezoelectric floor, with the walking that many people do everyday. So long as we keep coming out with new alternative energies, we will always be able to create electricity.
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1. What is the cost of installing piezoelectric energy, and how long does it take to install?
2.What is the amount of energy that is created with one step, and would a whole city filled with side walks using this technology be able to charge that whole city?
3.What are the downsides to piezoelectricity, and do out weigh the benefits? If so why?
Cool! ...Why isn't this more widely used? if it was in cities and schools, it would generate so much power! The only explanation I can think of as to why it isn't more common would be because it's expensive? To respond to question number 2, I think this method is better because it wouldn't interrupt people's daily lives once it's installed, and would keep producing energy s long as people walked the surfaces.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great use of self-supplying electricity. For example, piezoelectric materials are practical in restaurants, small stores, or even small houses, but not so much to power an entire city. The amount of energy being produced by piezoelectricity on sidewalks may be not worth the cost it takes to install. If I had the choice, I would install piezoelectric material right in front of my front door and extremely lower my energy use and electric bill. To answer question number 1: no, I would not. Like I said before, an and entire city with piezoelectric sidewalks would not be worth the extreme cost. I'd be better off finding a better, less expensive alternate source of energy.
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