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Powering Lights with Piezoelectric Energy‐Harvesting Floors
Author(s) -
Puscasu Onoriu,
Counsell Nathan,
Herfatmanesh Mohammad R.,
Peace Richard,
Patsavellas John,
Day Rodney
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201700629
Subject(s) - energy harvesting , energy (signal processing) , automotive engineering , electrical engineering , power (physics) , mechanical energy , work (physics) , electricity , light emitting diode , electric potential energy , process (computing) , engineering , computer science , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , operating system
The present work introduces a new technology for converting energy from steps into electricity. It starts with a study of the mechanical energy available from steps in a busy corridor. The subsequent development efforts and devices are presented, with an iterative approach to prototyping. Methods for enhancing the piezoelectric conversion efficiency have been determined as a part of the process and are introduced in the present article. Capitalizing on these findings, we have fabricated energy‐harvesting devices for stairs that power embedded emergency lighting. The typical working unit comprises an energy‐harvesting stair nosing, a power management circuit, and an embedded light‐emitting diode that lights the tread in front of the user with an illuminance corresponding to emergency standards. The stair nosing generates up to 17.7 mJ of useful electrical energy per activation to provide up to 10.6 seconds of light. The corresponding energy density is 0.49 J per meter square and per step, with an 8.5 mm thick active layer.