Great energy idea, wish I had thought of it ...

Lots of untapped potential sources out there still, I'm sure.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/4535408.stm

"A road ramp that uses passing cars to generate power has been developed.

Dorset inventor Peter Hughes' Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp creates around 10kW of power each time a car drives over its metal plates.

More than 200 local authorities had expressed an interest in ordering the £25,000 ramps to power their traffic lights and road signs, Mr Hughes said.

Around 300 jobs are due to be created in Somerset for a production run of 2,000 ramps next year.

Plates in the ramp move up and down as vehicles pass over them, driving a generator.

"The ramp is silent, comfortable and safe for vehicles," Mr Hughes said.

Underneath the Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp
Inventor Peter Hughes spent £1m developing the ramps

Depending on the weight of the vehicle passing overhead, between five and 50kW can be generated.

The prototype was created and tested at Hughes Research unit at the Westland Helicopter base in Somerset, at a cost of £1m.

The concept has been developed by Dorset-based Mr Hughes over the past 12 years. He recently approached councils across the country with the final patented project."

Hmmm.... I wonder where the energy comes from?

The weight of the car presses down on the plate...which makes energy.
Since energy always comes from somewhere...is any of it related to the car's need for energy to overcome the plate?

If a 2000# car presses the plate 1", that's 2000 #-in of work/energy. Going to a quick conversion website gives 226 W-Sec/Joules or .0000628 kWH. The car will have to provide the work to drive out of the 1" deep hole created by the process. The plate is simply harvesting some gravitational potential energy from the car.

Edit: Of course, after typing that, I read the article and looked at the pics. Same principal, but I don't think I would care to hit that thing riding a light motorcycle @ 65Mph!

Larry

looks like there has slipped a power conversion error in to the article... :thinking:

I think that if it were placed in a location where cars are likely to be slowing down or using their breaks like on a down hill stretch of road then the energy harvested from your car is likely to be energy that would be wasted in breaking action. I also find the 10kw number quite high. Is that a 10kw pulse of power for a small fraction of a second. I highly doubt they are claiming 10kwh of energy per car pasing over the remp. If so then 1 car pasing over a ramp would power by home for a whole day. If it were a 10kw pulse of energy for 1/10 of a second than each car would only produce about .00027 kwh of energy.

Brlux

While that may ge a valid idea for a remote traffic signal, it really is not free energy. The car must overcome what ever incline is created by the device. If it were installed at the bottom of an inclined ramp where gravity moves the car off the device..... Well then maybe it will truly be unused energy.

For the amount of energy generated, I would think a solar panel would be more effective.

My idea for powering remote devices was much simpler. It's based on air turbines and the hose type sensors used at gas stations for years.

Set out a series of 1inch rubber hoses accross a roadway about 1 inch apart. Put a one way valve at the left end to allow air to come in. Put a one way valve allowing air to exit on the right end. The right sides feed a manifold that connects to a small bladder that connects to a small air turbine that turns a small generator that feeds a capacitor bank. Plenty of power to run an LED based traffic signal for a minute or two. Use as many runs of hose as you need to get the desired result. It doubles as speed bumps.


Hmmm, for country roads it might make for a nice intersection control. No light unless someone is coming, then the first one triggers a red light for opposing traffic. Hmmmm.

gadget_lover said:

Hmmm, for country roads it might make for a nice intersection control. No light unless someone is coming, then the first one triggers a red light for opposing traffic. Hmmmm.

Click to expand...

If I recall correctly, some intersections already have that in the form of electromagnetic sensors.

carrot said:

If I recall correctly, some intersections already have that in the form of electromagnetic sensors.

Click to expand...

While quite true, that's a different application. Imagine a country intersection 10 miles from the nearest power source. A few thousand cars a day go down the road, and once or twice a year someone gets killed because they thought the intersection was clear. Put a self powered sensor 500 to 1000 feet down the road and it might save lives.

Of course, it could also be a solution without a problem to solve.