Energy2.0 – Energy Harvesting through CrowdSourcing in the coming Future

Most of you must be finding this as a joke or must have been lost in your own world imagining about this whole concept. But think again why not? The same must have been the dilemma through which our ancestors might have gone if the concept of web2.0 must have been told to them during their time.

Lets come to reality, the way energy is consumed, we will be starving for the same very soon, though various approaches are being made to create alternative sources of energy. But I would say, why cannot it be made open to the masses i.e. the consumers themselves becomes the producer of energy. Why cannot energy be harvested through crowdsourcing?

So, let’s see what is it all about. You all must be knowing of electric GRIDs, through which we get our electrical energy for our daily purpose. As per wikipedia, “Grid” may be used to refer to an entire continent’s electrical network, a regional transmission network or may be used to describe a subnetwork such as a local utility’s transmission grid or distribution grid.

A bit more clarification is needed I guess. Today,the process is, we have huge power plants at various odd regions to generate energy which is then distributed through various grids to our house hold. So, the moral of the story is the electricity which we use are powered by huge power plants which uses non-renewable sources of energy. This as you all will agree, we had read in our textbooks from our early days of schooling.

Now, imagine if the electricity which we use are being powered by ourselves and then again distributed to us for our own consumption.

You might be thinking I have gone crazy. But, I would say its nothing but transformation of energy, which we all had studied in our textbooks.

Imagine you will be able to produce power and as well as earn from it and there will be full freedom to use it as you produce. Also, you might have access to a networking site, where you can check out the power produced and consumed by each individual in his profile and have communities for generating power for various activities. You would be able to collaborate to generate certain units of power for certain events or activities.

Now the big question is how is it possible. I would say we are already approaching that way, but not the way I have portrayed.

The various ways through which humans can generate electricity-

1. Human Body heat (thermal energy)

2. Human body movement (kinetic energy)

3. Vehicular/Object movement (kinetic energy)

4. Gravity and many more

I would like to share an amazing fact before starting with the description- According to the scientists, in 15 per cent fat in a human body, it is possible to generate 11,000 watts of electricity per hour. In fact, different yielded energy levels are 81 watts from a sleeping person, 128 watts from a soldier standing at ease, 163 watts from a walking person, 407 watts from a briskly walking person, 1,048 watts from a long-distance runner, and 1,630 watts from a sprinter.

You have got the power!

These were just few of the numerous facts, there are many more. Can you imagine while you are driving your Car, you will actually be able to harvest energy from the rotating vehicle wheel. Manla, G.  White, N.M.  Tudor, J.  of Southampton University, UK have developed a method to generate power from a rotating vehicle wheel using a Thundertrade piezoelectric generator. The approach uses centripetal force to generate an impact on the piezoelectric transducer. The device was designed to be mounted on a vehicle rim. A generator with a volume of 2 cm³ produced 4 mW of electrical power at 800 rpm using a test wheel with 0.12 m diameter. Analytical results showed that the same amount of power can be produced by mounting the generator on a vehicle wheel with a diameter of 13 inches and a linear speed of 28.4 miles/h.

Volvo Electric Car ReCharge Concept hybrid In-Wheel Motor EV

Did you ever imagine in your dreams that you can actually generate energy from falling water droplets. A team from CEA/Leti-Minatec has created a system that is capable of recovering kinetic energy from the impact of falling raindrops. For every square meter of surface, the process  generates about 1 watt-hour per year. Though its less as of now, but there is still space for improvements.

Human Body might itself act as a battery in the future powering various electrical devices. The body heat, motion and even blood pressure are being considered as the potential sources of power. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute  have created a new thermoelectric system, which is at the forefront of these developments – running on a miniscule 200 millivolts the device is able to create an electrical charge from body heat and could go way beyond powering your own mobile phone.

A thermoelectric generator ((TEG)) draws electrical energy from differences in temperature. Due to a circuitry system created by the Fraunhofer Institute that runs on a miniscule 200 millivolts, TEGs are now able to create an electrical charge from body heat.

Body heat warms central Stockholm station

Japanese train stations are collecting the piezoelectric energy of commuters walking through the gates, and MIT is working on a “crowd farm” which would use a special floor to harness the energy created by the circulation of a large amount of people. So, you will be having Gyms and Discs in the future where you will be able to generate energy and as well earn from the power produced by yourselves.

Imagine having electric kiosks where an individual can get into and harvest some energy and withdraw the cash equivalent to the energy produced by him/her. So, we can create energy ATMs in the future where an individual can enter, swipe his card and generate energy through various equipments kept there, the amount of energy produced by him will get credited to his card in terms of his currency, which he can encash. The amount of energy will be collected and sent to a nearby grid. He/She could use the energy card by swiping it to get energy or encash the amount equivalent to the energy from energy cum Cash ATMs around his/her region. Too futuristic, you might be thinking, but think again before coming to a conclusion.

Now, I guess you will be thinking in the same line as I am. When the above methods of generating electricity is possible, then why cannot we have a internet kind of network for generating energy. I would say why not, its definitely possible.

As of 17 April 2010, the human population of the world is estimated by the United States Census Bureau to be 6,815,421,111. In 2008, total worldwide energy consumption was 474 exajoules (474×10¹⁸ J) with 80 to 90 percent derived from the combustion of fossil fuels. This is equivalent to an average power consumption rate of 15 terawatts (1.504×10¹³ W). US is the largest consumer of electricity accounting to 22.7% of global energy consumption, whereas China is second to US with 16.7%.
There is a large difference in Energy Consumption even between the most highly developed countries, such as Japan and Germany with 6 kW per person and United States with 11.4 kW per person. In developing countries particularly those which are sub-tropical or tropical such as India the per person energy use is closer to 0.7 kW. Bangladesh has the lowest consumption with 0.2 kW per person. As per the above data, lets take 5kWh per person per day is the average energy consumed globally.

Now coming to the calculation, based on the above methods if an individual is able to produce even 0.2kWh, it will be more than sufficient from the personal contribution of individuals. The rest can be produced by collaborative, public means and through other alternative sources of energy.

Let me share few more innovative methods which are being used and can be used in the future for harvesting energy.

Personal sources of energy-
1. BackPack capturing Energy-
Larry Rome of the University of Pennsylvania has created the Lightning Pack, a backpack that captures energy from the natural up-and-down movement of your hips. As you walk, a bag bounces on a spring, which connects through gears to an electrical generator. Wires carry the electricity to your batteries or gadgets. The output is impressive: 20 watts, enough for nearly all portable devices, Rome says.

2. Electricity generated by Knee Brace-
Max Donelan of the Locomotion Laboratory at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, in collaboration with American and Canadian researchers, is developing an electromagnetic generator fitted to a standard knee brace. The prototype,  turns a one-minute walk into enough current for a half-hour cellphone conversation.

3.Multitasking Clothing-
Energy harvesters the size of a thread are being developed by Zhong Lin Wang and two colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology. These mini-generators can be woven into T-shirts or other clothing and will collect energy from the body’s smallest movements, piping electricity to mobile devices. The researchers predict that clothing with these fibers could generate up to 80 milliwatts of electricity per 11 square feet of fabric, which is almost enough to power a cellphone or other mobile electronic device.

Below video shows Washington State University students build energy harvesting clothing

Energy harvesting clothing

Community or public means of harvesting energy-
1. Human Powered Gyms-
The Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon, where machines like stationary bikes harvest energy during workouts. By being extremely energy-efficient and combining human power, solar and someday wind, they believe they will be able to be net-zero for electricity.

2.Dance clubs Powered by Dancers-
In the Netherlands, Rotterdam’s new Club WATT has a floor that harnesses the energy created by the dancers’ steps. Designed by a Dutch company called the Sustainable Dance Club, the floor is based on the piezoelectric effect, in which certain materials produce an electric current when compressed or bent.

3. Roads Designed to harvest Traffic energy to electricity-

Isreali engineers are about to begin testing a 100 metre stretch of roadway embedded with a network of Piezo Electric Generators (IPEG™). The piezoelectric effect converts mechanical strain into electrical current or voltage and the system is expected to scale up to 400 kilowatts from a 1-kilometre stretch of dual carriageway. Initially though, the system can be configured to generate and store energy from roads, airport runways and rail systems at the same time as delivering real-time data on the weight, frequency and spacing between passing vehicles. The harvested energy can be transferred back to the grid.

Innowattech breakthrough in alternative energy from road traffic

4. Heat from Datacenters and local computers to harvest Electricity-

Temperatures in most data center hot aisles range from 80 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (27 to 46 degrees Celsius). A growing number of data centers are redirecting the heat from their hot aisles to nearby homes, offices, greenhouses and even pools. Example, an IBM data center in Switzerland is being used to heat a nearby swimming pool. Hot air generated by the Uitikon center will flow through heat exchangers to warm water that will be pumped into the nearby pool.

Alternative Sources of Energies-

Various alternative sources have been identified and are in use, which most of you might be aware off  like Solar, Wind,etc. I have mentioned the one which most of you might have given a thought but never heard off.

Harvesting Energy from Gravity-

a> Generating electricity by means of Pendulums

As per the USPTO Patent Application 20070012518, there has been a patent on Gravity generator of electricity or how to use gravity to generate electricity by means of pendulums. Pendulums are a very efficient way of using the force of gravity, providing movement for a long time with small investment of energy. We only need a proportionally small investment of energy to make the swing return to the same position all the time by overcoming the lost in resistance by friction.

b> Portable electricity generating gravity driven wheel systems (United States Patent 7222487 )

A wheel assembly with tangentially attached fluid receptacles around the perimeter rotates to power a gravity driven fluid electricity generating assembly. A plunger pump assembly with a drive wheel powered by the wheel assembly pumps a quantity of fluid to fill a fluid receptacle with each motion of a lever arm eccentrically attached to the drive wheel.

I guess my above explanations and the various facts about new technologies have not gone waste. Now, you all will be able to appreciate the concept of creating an Energy2.0 platform like web2.0, where energy harvesting can be crowdsourced, as well would be a means of livelihood for many people around the globe. This would really make the world more flat and bring power to both developed and under developed nation, since it will be based on the fundamentals that the more you contribute the more you gain or can harvest energy. Rural population will be the major contributor than urban population, since they are exposed to more of physical strain during their daily course and will become self sufficient in terms of electricity.

This approach in one way will bring down the differences or inequality between the rural and the urban population. This would really be a segment that the entrepreneurs, investors and the governments should take a look at.

Think Again Before making Any Conclusion. Just ask yourself- WHY NOT?