I almost wrote on these cool energy-producing sidewalks in October when I was writing a post for MyEnergy on kinetic energy. We’ve written on kinetic energy many times here on CleanTechnica, as you can see from this excerpt of that MyEnergy post (note: the first link and 4 others … [continued]
With potential laptops powered by typing and watches powered by moving one’s arm, energy harvesting is a growing field with a number of cool products. In Japan, Murata Manufacturing is firmly on board the trend with sensors to detect and convert vibration, temperature gradient, ambient heat, and light into small amounts of electricity. Their most recent offering uses a variety of their sensors in combination with a flexible plate to send several different signals without the need for batteries.
Kinetic energy harvesters that could power electronic devices simply by walking have been in the hopper for a while now, and it finally seems to be on the verge of breaking into the commercial market. That means, in the near future, anybody with a cell phone, iPAD or any other electronic device will never have to worry about batteries again.
Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimate that the U.S. loses more than half the energy it generates. That doesn’t include heating and cooling loss from buildings, just energy that vanishes into the atmosphere from machines, industrial processes and electronic equipment. In order to reclaim and recycle some of this energy,
In a first-of-its-kind demonstration project, the Ford Motor Company and Georgia Tech are transforming a conventional school bus into a lesson in sustainability. The new bus will run on biofuel made from reclaimed cooking oil, and it will sport a new hydraulic system that captures the energy from braking.
When the Monty Python crew dreamed up an all-powerful word that sounds like “Knee!” little did they know that not too many years later a power-generating knee would emerge from the sustainability shrubbery, so to speak. The new clean energy device, a product of the startup company Bionic Power, Inc., … [continued]
[Updated below.] A new clean tech company called Kinetic Traction Systems, Inc. has just launched, and its success could have some interesting implications for the 2012 Presidential election year. That’s because KTSi manufactures flywheels that harvest energy from the braking power of trains, and their factory is located right here … [continued]
Philadelphia subway trains are the next to jump on the energy innovation bandwagon, by using the energy they create from braking to help power other trains and possibly even the electric grid. Basically, a large battery will capture the kinetic energy the trains create while braking, and then that energy … [continued]
[social_buttons] A two year study led by the University of Leeds in the UK aims to develop a system that can harness kinetic energy from marching soldiers. The $1.5 million plan will focus on finding a way to convert human energy into usable power for military field applications. It is … [continued]
Just looking at this mock-up of a human-powered river gym makes me seasick, but architect Mitchell Joachim and personal trainer Douglas Joachim’s design won third place in New York Magazine’s “Create a Gym Contest”. The gym’s creators explain, “Often the average urbanite exercising at the gym performs controlled repetitive single … [continued]
