As you are walking down city streets, little attention is ever paid to the pavement that you are walking on. Throughout the day, one single piece of pavement can be stepped on upwards to 50,000 times. Now think about if all 50,000 of those steps hitting the pavement could generate energy. This would be able to supply enough energy to be distributed to nearby lights, traffic controls, information displays and much more. This is exactly what Pavegen, a new product from Pavegen Systems Ltd., is capable of doing.
With a small flex of 5mm, the Pavegen is absorbs the kinetic energy from every footstep which creates 2.1 watts of electricity per hour. Every time the rubber Pavegen is stepped on the kinetic energy is absorbed and either stored in polymer lithium batteries or dispersed throughout the city. A whole bus station can stay illuminated the whole night by the energy generated from just five Pavegen slabs in high foot traffic area.
This is just the beginning, if put into use in other public and private spaces the system has the potential produce enough energy to operate lights, elevators, automatic doors, microwaves and refrigerators depending on the usage. The payback period could be as little as a year all while each Pavegen slab has an estimated life of five years or 20 million steps.
That isn’t the only green element the Pavegen has to offer. The Pavegen itself is composed of recycled materials. The surface is made up of recycled rubber from old tires and the electric components on the inside the electronics are made up of recycled aluminum. The Pavegen lights up every time someone steps on it, this only uses 5% of the total energy produced. The idea behind it is to inform the passerby of their contribution at the same time reinforcing a sustainable lifestyle to intrigue others to use it.
As of right now the Pavegen is being tested out in East London and other various locations around the UK. If proven to be effective, the Pavegen may be seen all over the world in some of the heavy traffic destinations.
Tags: Energy Pavement, recycled materials, Recycling for Charities
