Kinetic paving technology is a new way to draw power from people’s footsteps and it’s making a big impact in the renewable energy sector. Installing the system in your home can effectively turn your floor into a power storage battery or immediate electricity source without you having to do anything but continue to walk around as you normally would. One company has come a long way with the innovative tech, which is explained below.
One company figured out how to gather renewable energy from under people’s feet
78% of the world’s energy is consumed in high-density urban areas, which is also where 60% of global greenhouse gases are produced. It’s complicated to make up for this with clean solutions when the nature of cities means a lack of physical space to install options like wind or solar farms.
However, there are millions of people moving around in urban areas generating energy as they go, and one inventor decided to come up with a way to capitalize on this abundance of motion. Laurence Kemball-Cook founded his company Pavegan in 2009 after conceptualizing the kinetic paving technology. Although the systems are fairly new on the market, they have already been installed and are functioning in 37 countries across the globe.
The target locations for the installation of Pavegan’s underfoot electricity-generating technology are those with high footfall traffic, such as shopping malls, transport stations, and sports stadiums. The more people walk over the kinetic paving, the more energy is harvested and stored to supplement a power supply.
How does Pavegan’s kinetic paving technology work?
Kinetic paving operates on the scientific principle of piezoelectricity, which refers to a material’s capacity to convert mechanical pressure into electrical energy by harvesting vibrational energy. It’s this property that led to the development of surface tiles that draw energy from people stepping on them—a totally free and clean source (such as this sphere for your home that eliminates the need for solar panels).
The Pavegan tiles compress around five millimeters when trodden on, which feels similar to the sensation of walking on soft Astroturf with around the same amount of yield underfoot.
Each step could create between two and eight watts of energy when pressure is applied to an electromagnetic generator installed under the surface of the tile. This can either be stored in lithium batteries or instantly released to power lighting or low-energy devices like sensors, LED lights, charging stations, and signage.
Pavegan tiles are environmentally safe
The Pavegan tiles are sustainably produced with 95% of the materials used made from recycled tires. They are durable and versatile and can be laid indoors or outdoors. Another interesting feature is their ability to collect data and communicate wirelessly about how many steps have landed on them and how much energy has been created.
How can we expect the technology to be applied in everyday life?
The Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford City in England signed one of the earliest contracts with Pavegen to install kinetic energy flooring. Passers-by were able to engage with the installation via a lighting display that lit up in real-time as the tiles were stepped on. This successful endeavor generated a lot of public interest and since then, Pavegen has expanded to more locations in the United Kingdom and countries further abroad.
Another Pavegan installation at the University of Birmingham, also in the UK, generates enough electricity to power a phone charging station for students.
Power savings of up to 30% are possible
Pavegan is not the only company working on kinetic flooring and others are helping to expand its reach. Energy Flooring, which is based in the Netherlands in Europe, is credited with constructing the world’s most sustainable dance floor, which is installed in Club Watt nightclub in Rotterdam. The energy generated by dancing patrons has cut the establishment’s power costs by an impressive 30%.
Although the technology is not feasible on the same large scale as solar, wind, or tidal systems, there’s still a place for small-scale solutions. Powering streetlights in the UK, for example, would translate into 1% less electricity drawn from the national grid and prevent 50,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.
It’s not unrealistic to imagine that the tech will one day be practical and cost-efficient enough to install in homes to power lighting and appliances (similar to a small-scale flying wind turbine that can be installed in your garden).