How to Generate Power From Your Daily Activities
- Posted by: Zach Frechette
- on February 25, 2009 at 10:28 am
Two recent posts speak to the potential of a rising trend: converting small amounts of human energy into usable electricity. The first is a proposal from a design firm in New York to turn the energy expended rotating a revolving door into power. The second is borderline ridiculous, but well-intentioned: an “energy tail” you strap to yourself, which generates power from the friction of two rollers against the ground (to mitigate some of the absurdity of this, it was designed for rural Africa, where energy is in short supply).
I wonder what the potential impact of technology like this really is. More specifically, is the cost to develop and implement this technology worth the potential energy savings it engenders? Follow up question: Did someone at Toyota have the same attitude when an engineer suggested capturing the energy produced while braking to charge the Prius’s battery? I’d be curious to know if these incremental energy saving could really add up to something big, or if instead this is a technology designed to create a new marketplace, but not real solutions.
DISCUSSION: 4 Comments
Perhaps one could just incorporate this “tail” into a discreet rolling suitcase that you can just carry around with you. People will just think you’re someone who travels a lot instead of mental ;-p.
I always wonder those things when biking in stationary cycling excercise machines
Not so sure about the tails, but the spinning door seems like a good idea. Why not all doors actually?
There’s now a bridge in Tokyo where the lights are powered by the vibrations caused by the cars driving across it (if you click the link, wait for the overlay and its the fourth video on the side). And a gym in Hong Kong powered by its treadmills.
how about a rolling lap top bag that recharges the laptops batteries as well as a cellphone, Ipod etc. Backpacks too. Lets put those wheelie bags to work.