Comments on: POWERleap Harnesses Energy From Foot Steps! http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/14/powerleap-harnesses-energy-from-foot-steps/ Future-forward design for the world you inhabit Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:39:06 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Deepak Sharmahttp://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/14/powerleap-harnesses-energy-from-foot-steps/comment-page-1/#comment-173759 Deepak Sharma Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:10:46 +0000 http://www.inhabitat.com/?p=24286#comment-173759 This is a very good way of tapping energy which is any way getting lost. This can be surely used on downward slopes where the person will be not feel the impact. This is a very good way of tapping energy which is any way getting lost. This can be surely used on downward slopes where the person will be not feel the impact.

]]> By: Jitendra Khalpadahttp://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/14/powerleap-harnesses-energy-from-foot-steps/comment-page-1/#comment-146850 Jitendra Khalpada Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:38:35 +0000 http://www.inhabitat.com/?p=24286#comment-146850 Kindly give me more details on quality reqd. & cost of the floor space/carpet to be used in generation of electricity. It will benifit the human being at large.Thanks. Kindly give me more details on quality reqd. & cost of the floor space/carpet to be used in generation of electricity. It will benifit the human being at large.Thanks.

]]> By: RCLhttp://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/14/powerleap-harnesses-energy-from-foot-steps/comment-page-1/#comment-145382 RCL Tue, 26 May 2009 16:48:21 +0000 http://www.inhabitat.com/?p=24286#comment-145382 Why stop there. Install them in the streets and take advantage of the mass of all that traffic flowing by. Why stop there. Install them in the streets and take advantage of the mass of all that traffic flowing by.

]]> By: shimmydavehttp://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/14/powerleap-harnesses-energy-from-foot-steps/comment-page-1/#comment-140450 shimmydave Wed, 06 May 2009 19:47:26 +0000 http://www.inhabitat.com/?p=24286#comment-140450 To Josh/This floor just absorbs energy that it normally dispated into the floor as vibrations (kinetic energy), The material deforms hardly any different to what standard floor would (especailly a carpet). I went to a nightclub in london and it had one of these floors, it hardly moved when you danced on it.from your point of view we should scrap anything that absorbs our energy while walking, so get rid of shoes altogether then. they absorb our walking energy alot more than this floor would and from your view they are making it more tiring to walk and therefore making us burn extra energy, just think how much energy we would save not manufacturing shoes and not shipping them round the world. To Josh/

This floor just absorbs energy that it normally dispated into the floor as vibrations (kinetic energy), The material deforms hardly any different to what standard floor would (especailly a carpet). I went to a nightclub in london and it had one of these floors, it hardly moved when you danced on it.

from your point of view we should scrap anything that absorbs our energy while walking, so get rid of shoes altogether then. they absorb our walking energy alot more than this floor would and from your view they are making it more tiring to walk and therefore making us burn extra energy, just think how much energy we would save not manufacturing shoes and not shipping them round the world.

]]> By: mcrobb.mhttp://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/14/powerleap-harnesses-energy-from-foot-steps/comment-page-1/#comment-127530 mcrobb.m Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:13:48 +0000 http://www.inhabitat.com/?p=24286#comment-127530 To Josh, that\'s a bold claim to make without any LCA, how do you know what the net energy effect would be? Has anyone done a LCA for this yet? Isn\'t that possibly why it\'s still in the R&D stages? Plus with Piezo\'s you are talking displacements in the manner of microns, hence it states that one walker on his/her own would have an insignificant effect (hence unlikely to be out of breath after a few foot steps, it isn\'t foam or rubber, its crystal), but combine all these tiny efforts of hundreds of individuals together and we have some viable power........My issue is net energy from manufacture to harvesting, but there is that need for LCA again...Plus, if it were the way you put, I think many parts of the western world could be doing with the extra effort when walking to try and burn off some of those excess calories don\'t you think?! (humor btw)Lets wait and see how this evolves, you can\'t shoot down every new idea before its been properly developed, give them a chance To Josh, that\’s a bold claim to make without any LCA, how do you know what the net energy effect would be? Has anyone done a LCA for this yet? Isn\’t that possibly why it\’s still in the R&D stages? Plus with Piezo\’s you are talking displacements in the manner of microns, hence it states that one walker on his/her own would have an insignificant effect (hence unlikely to be out of breath after a few foot steps, it isn\’t foam or rubber, its crystal), but combine all these tiny efforts of hundreds of individuals together and we have some viable power……..

My issue is net energy from manufacture to harvesting, but there is that need for LCA again…

Plus, if it were the way you put, I think many parts of the western world could be doing with the extra effort when walking to try and burn off some of those excess calories don\’t you think?! (humor btw)

Lets wait and see how this evolves, you can\’t shoot down every new idea before its been properly developed, give them a chance

]]> By: joshhttp://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/14/powerleap-harnesses-energy-from-foot-steps/comment-page-1/#comment-127206 josh Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:00:24 +0000 http://www.inhabitat.com/?p=24286#comment-127206 There is no such thing as free energy. For a piezo-electric mat to generate power, it needs to absorb it from the impact of a foot. That means it will take slightly more energy for a walker to cross that surface. Over time, the walker will need to ingest more calories to replace that energy. This is a horribly inefficient way to generate electricity. The petroleum, water and land required to grow, transport and prepare food to power people to walk on floors would be much better used to generate electricity directly. And then we wouldn't get yet another impediment to just getting around our cities. There is no such thing as free energy. For a piezo-electric mat to generate power, it needs to absorb it from the impact of a foot. That means it will take slightly more energy for a walker to cross that surface. Over time, the walker will need to ingest more calories to replace that energy. This is a horribly inefficient way to generate electricity. The petroleum, water and land required to grow, transport and prepare food to power people to walk on floors would be much better used to generate electricity directly. And then we wouldn’t get yet another impediment to just getting around our cities.

]]> By: JokerDawghttp://www.inhabitat.com/2009/04/14/powerleap-harnesses-energy-from-foot-steps/comment-page-1/#comment-127021 JokerDawg Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:52:31 +0000 http://www.inhabitat.com/?p=24286#comment-127021 wouldn't it be cool if they can apply that technology to every step in stair case in any kind of building? wouldn’t it be cool if they can apply that technology to every step in stair case in any kind of building?

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