Pavegen, the company that makes electricity-generating flooring, has released a new version of its power-producing paving tile.
The new tile produces 5 watts per step, which can be used to power low-voltage off-grid applications such as street lights. Pavegen said the new technology produced 20 times more power per footstep than its previous system.
As people walk across the flooring the weight from their footsteps rotates a flywheel underneath the tile, creating energy through electromagnetic induction.
Previous versions of the tile were square and could only generate electricity when people stepped on the hot spot in the centre. The new Pavegen tile is triangular, with a generators at each corner. "It means not a step is wasted," said Pavegen founder Laurence Kemball-Cook. "The old tile meant that there were edges that weren’t generating power." "The triangle allows us to make this articulated floor," added Craig Webster, Pavegen's chief technology officer. “We're capturing probably about 20 times per footstep than previous systems."
The tiles also collect real-time footfall data, tracking people's location and the number of steps they've taken, which Pavegen claimed could be used by retailers to track customer movements.
One of the first installations will be at the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, east London. After that the tiles will be taken to Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, and Oxford Street in London, where 200 generators will be installed for clients including Transport for London.
Founded by Kemball-Cook in 2009, UK-based Pavegen has installed tiles in more than 100 locations, including Harrods and Heathrow Airport. In 2015 the startup raised £2 million from over 1,500 investors on equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
