There is a big difference between the people of Tokyo walking on a
Piezoelectric walkway to light a sign versus running an electric train
between stations. I am more apt to walk to charge my cell phone with
piezoelectric elements built into my shoes but not to charge my EV. If
that were true, we would have piezoelectric accelerator and break pedal
pads (or at least be thinking of the concept). If that were also true,
we would have people tap dancing aboard a train all the way to the next
station. Pity the lone rider ;^))
Second, the way this is written, it sounds like a piezoelectric roadway
would have a piezoelectric mat or carpet on top of the roadway
pavement. How efficient and how durable would such a mat or carpet be?
The specs call for a 15-year life time. Most roadways show significant
degradation after 10 years. Anything built under the roadway would have
a lot of its energy absorbed by the roadway material.
I could see the piezoelectric elements buried in a rubberized mat
similar to what you sometimes see at a railroad crossing but I would
expect the elements would eventually work free causing mini-potholes,
puddles, and shorts ...
It would appear that someone may have a problem converting between
milliwatts and watts; maybe microwatts and watts. From what Mark posted
about the specs: "Power density greater than or equal to 300 W/sq ft"
That's generating the power for 3 - 100 light bulbs in a square foot of
space. If I travel on 6" wide tires for a mile, I would be generating
(4 tires x 6" wide)/12 x 300w x 5280 feet in a mile or 3.168 MW/min at
60 mph. Does this sound about right?
Love to see how the numbers actually work out.
On 8/26/16, 5:40 AM, brucedp5 via EV wrote:
http://www.awaken.com/2016/08/california-freeways-will-soon-generate-electricity/#14718579495901&action=collapse_widget&id=0&data=
California Freeways Will Soon Generate Electricity
August 22, 2016 Laura Goldman
[image
http://www.awaken.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1.jpg
]
Energy conservation is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when
you think about freeways jammed with idling vehicles…
Awaken
But in California, which has some of the most congested freeways in the
country, that’s about to change. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has
approved a pilot program in which piezoelectric crystals will be installed
on several freeways.
No, these aren’t some kind of new-agey crystals with mystical powers.
Piezoelectric crystals, about the size of watch batteries, give off an
electrical discharge when they’re mechanically stressed, such as when a
vehicle drives over them. Multiply that by thousands of vehicles and it
creates an electric current that can be harvested to feed the grid.
In fact, scientists estimate the energy generated from piezoelectric
crystals on a 10-mile stretch of freeway could provide power for the entire
city of Burbank (population: more than 105,000).
“I still get stopped on the street by people who ask what happened to the
idea of using our roads to generate electricity,” said Mike Gatto, a Los
Angeles assemblyman, in a press releaseannouncing the program. “California
is the car capital of the world and we recycle just about everything. So why
not capture the energy from road vibrations and put it to good use?”
Piezoelectric-based energy‐harvesting technology is already being used in
other countries. Since 2009, all the displays in the East Japan Railway
Company’s Tokyo station have been powered by people walking on the
piezoelectric flooring. Italy has signed a contract that will install this
technology in a portion of the Venice-to-Trieste Autostrada. Israel is
already using this technology on some highways, which is how Gatto got the
idea for the pilot program in California. A friend returning from a trip to
Israel raved about a road that produced energy.
“If piezoelectric‐based technology has the potential to match the
performance, reliability and costs of existing or emerging renewable energy
sources, then it can potentially diversify California’s resource portfolio
and ultimately increase grid reliability and reduce costs to ratepayers,”
states a report prepared for the CEC in 2014 by international certification
body and classification society DNV KEMA Energy& Sustainability (now known
as DNV GL).
Piezoelectric technology has been used for years in electric guitars and
sonar. The crystals are “in effect the reverse of sonar: a vibration comes
in and an electric pulse comes out,” according to the press release. This
video provides an animated illustration of how they could generate
electricity on roadways.
After California Gov. Brown vetoed an assembly bill Gatto introduced in 2011
that would have launched two piezoelectric pilot programs in California,
Gatto asked the CEC to study the technology. Five years later, the CEC has
agreed to fund pilot projects around the state.
If they are successful, perhaps other states will consider harvesting
electricity from their busy roadways.
“Thirty years ago, no one would have believed that black silicon panels in
the desert could generate ‘solar‘ power,” Gatto stated. “Piezoelectric
technology is real and I am glad the state has finally acknowledged its
potential in becoming an energy source.”
[© awaken.com]
...
http://www.ecowatch.com/california-freeways-generate-electricity-piezoelectric-crystals-1967109463.html
California Freeways Will Soon Generate Electricity
Aug 10, 2016
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