Between every step we take and every pedal we push, there lies an opportunity to protect our stretched-thin resources. Some unique gadgets are taking that idea a step further, beyond energy preservation and into the realm of production. Here are several forward-thinking technologies that give a whole new meaning to the idea of self-sufficiency.
I’m Supergirl, Here to Save the World
Step aside, Superman. Who needs an ego-inflated male superhero when we’ve got Wonder Woman’s bra? If Triumph International Japan Ltd’s most forward-thinking brassiere design to 
date is any indication, lingerie is poised to save the planet.
The innovative undergarment designers (same crafty folks behind the “husband-hunting” and the “chopstick” bras) recently unveiled a solar-power bosom-holder able to harness energy emitted by he sun and uses it to charge the attached cell phone or iPod. Because this sexy number requires direct access to the sun – not to mention that weather-proofing the piece has proved difficult – it will likely be some time before this model hits Victoria’s Secret shelves. [1]
But given the logic behind the eco design, there’s a pretty good chance we’re staring at the cleavage of the future here. The technological advances demonstrated by this innovative green garment may be one small step for lingerie designers, but one heck of a leap for women who (rightfully so) believed they’d grow up to save the world. [2]
Pedal Power
The multifaceted social campaign to “go green” offers a laundry-list of ways willing participants can make a difference. Cut back on red meat, participate in Earth Hour, or lobby to ban plastic bags. But perhaps the easiest habit to adopt – and certainly among the most beneficial to our health – is that of getting oil-dependent, couch-plopping Americans to live life as our eco-savvy European counterparts have for quite some time. That, of course, means swapping the car keys for a bicycle helmet.
But getting people to pedal their way around town was not enough for one California tech company. With the launch of RollerGen, Santa Clara-based High Tide has turned eco-friendly commuting by bike into a double entendre of green living. Their bike-mounted generator – nominated for a 2010 Greener Gadget award – converts renewable leg power into reusable energy capable of charging any USB gadget. According to High Tide designers, a 30-minute cruise can produce 30 watts of electricity that will be stored in the BOS, a small, removable battery pack. [3]
Sound too good to be true? Surprisingly, it’s not. The RollerGen is available for purchase through the company’s website for $495. The only lingering question seems to be about how well this pricey piece of green technology would fare under rain showers. [4]
Crowd Farming
To say a walk through Manhattan’s Grand Central station during rush hour is overwhelming is an understatement. It’s a veritable zoo. You haven’t seen a stampede until you witness thousands of business-suit clad commuters running to catch the 5:47 pm Connecticut-bound Monday night train. If only there was a way to channel that collective power into usable energy. Enter MIT grad students James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk.
The brain-child team behind “crowd farming” – the idea of generating power through footsteps – submitted a proposal highlighting the unusual power-generating prowess of large crowds to a sustainable urban construction competition. With their first-place winning proposal, they managed to show the feasibility of a model train station to convert energy captured in the movement of large groups of people into enough energy to power the entire space. They suggested that the weight of each person could be translated into tile blocks that would press down as passersby walk on top of them. A generator inside the tiles would then convert the small vertical movements into usable energy. [5]
Sure, this isn’t technology we are likely to see in practice tomorrow or next week. But rooted in logic and meticulous research, urban planners should take note: “crowd farming” could very well be the blue print for (near) future transportation hubs. [6]
Green Clean
There simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Who has time to spend all day at work, rush straight to the gym (before all the good stationary bikes are gone) and get home in time to put dinner on the stove and throw in a few loads of laundry? If Alex Gadsden has anything to do with it, we’ll soon be able to kill two birds with one bike. Multitaskers rejoice, the Cyclean Machine (video below) has arrived. (Well, in prototype form anyway – the designer is still on the hunt for a financier.)
Putting the pedal-powered machine together proved easy for Gadsden – he constructed the super-green cleaning machine with old washing machine parts, a wheelbarrow, and, obviously, a bike. The moving pedals spin the internal washer chamber thus requiring absolutely no electric current.
Just sit, pedal off your lunch, and in approximately 30 minutes (depending on how hard a workout you’re in the mood for) viola, you can cross workout and laundry off the day’s to-do list. Now, if it only made dinner, too.
Empowering Workout
Don’t worry, runners – the inventive eco-friendly (and health conscious) bunch at one Florida company have created something for you, too. If cycling through your laundry doesn’t peak your interest, check out ReRev.
The ReRev system retrofits cardio machines (read: your beloved treadmill and elliptical machines) to convert human energy into renewable energy that can be rerouted and used to power the entire gym. The attached controller box feeds the collected kinetic energy through a processor and into a central-grid tied inverter, which funnels the newly generated power into the building’s electrical system.
Outfitted with ReRev, an average elliptical machine can generate one kilowatt-hour of electricity every two days, enough energy to power a laptop for 24 hours! This revolutionary system fosters a symbiotic relationship between the environment and gym rats. ReRevs are currently in use on college campuses from Gator Nation to Oregon State. College students across the country are powering their minds and bodies while simultaneously powering their gyms – all in a day’s work(out).[7]
Socially Responsible EcoPower
In remote communities, a solar-paneled bra or pedal-powered washing machine would be of little use. A population struggling for the basic steady-streaming electricity we take for granted simply needs a reliable source of consistent energy. Thanks to EcoSystems Ltd, 15 remote villages in Nepal were presented with a viable, cost-effective solution. [8]
Using their pedal-powered generator – which in eight hours can produce enough electricity to provide light for 200 homes, or even light a classroom – people can generate electricity on an as-needed basis. Electricity is stored in rechargeable battery packs, which can be taken to their respective homes to power the house for up to 50 days. [9]
Not only is EcoSystems giving these villagers access to resources they might not otherwise have – they are also providing a safer method of lighting than the open wood fires and kerosene lamps they would ordinarily use.
These Boots Were Made for Powering?
Always one step ahead, the progressive powers that be in London have announced plans to make their beloved city more sustainable by 2012, one sidewalk at a time. By replacing 16,000 cement slabs with power-generating Pavegen tiles – recycled rubber pavers that harvest footstep-generated energy – London will launch a pilot program set to revitalize (and light-up) their fair city. [10]
Utilizing the same energy-producing principles as “crowd farming,” the innovative green slabs (literally, the tiles are the color green will be strategically placed in spots where at least 50,00 steps are taken a day (which, according to Pavegen’s Managing Director Laurence Kemball-Cook, is precisely how many steps it takes to power the lights).
The energy collected from Pavegen efficient tiles will be used to illuminate traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, and subway stations.
Party the Light Away
The roaring music, flashing lights, and blasting ACs are just a few of the reasons night clubs are often such energy-guzzling establishments. But environmentally conscious dancers, don’t fret – just because you like to groove to the music, doesn’t mean you have to stop in your tracks. Trek over to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where you’d now have the option to shake your groove thing on a more efficient dance floor.
Hotspot WATT is outfitted with a signature piezoelectric – electric polarity created by pressure – dance floor, and the energetic dancers themselves provide the club’s LED-lighting with each funky new dance step. To help encourage clubbers to keep bouncing into the wee hours of the night, an energy meter is on display, letting would-be do-gooders see just how much energy they’ve helped produce. All in all, the innovative floor installation is said to reduce energy by approximately 10 percent. As if you needed another reason to dance the night away. [11]
It’s not enough to simply save energy anymore. Like the innovators behind these, and many other, brilliant and emerging energy-harnessing systems, to live a truly sustainable lifestyle, we need to start thinking outside of the box. We have a ways to go before some of these efficient inventions become commonplace, but given that the market for a solar-powered bra or pedal-powered washing machine even exists proves just how adaptable we truly are. Onward and upward!
Sources:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRP4qdz_2NQ
2. http://www.slate.com/id/2193827
3. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/4347282?nav=RSS20&src=syn&dom=yah_buzz&mag=pop
4. http://www.rollergen.com/product.php?id=7
5. http://www.holcimfoundation.org/T155/holcim_forum.htm
6. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20201266
7. http://rerev.com/recardio.html
8. http://www.ecosystemsnepal.com/ecopower.php
9. http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=3695
10. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/758510–foot-power-to-light-up-london-by-2012
11. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/five-green-nightclubs.php
This article is from Wellhome, which provides Home Energy Audits or Assessments with the ability to upgrade HVAC, Windows, and Home Insulation, and perform Duct Tightening and Air Sealing to create a comfortable more well balanced home that performs at its best level. Home energy assessments through WellHome allow the homeowner to get a bigger picture of the efficiency of the home and its ability to maintain comfortable temperatures and air flow.