21 Dec
Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp
These Electro-Kinetic Road Ramps that will power traffic signals from the energy generated from cars rolling over them sound like a great idea. They can generate up to 50kW, depending on the weight of the car that passes over the, At £25k a time it would be interesting to know how long it would take for them to pay for themselves. They must pay for themselves eventually because one council in the UK have ordered 200 already. [via]
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In other words, free energy doesn’t exist. These clever speed bumps generate electricty be leeching energy from vehicles (in the form of drag, that requires increased petrol consumption to negotiate the squishy generator bit). It would only make sense if installed on the downward lane of a fairly steeply sloped road, since the cars would be wasting energy via braking. And I think the £25G question is “For how many microseconds does this thing generate 50kW of electricity when a car passes over?”
December 21st, 2005 at 6:22 pmInteresting comment James. I guess in many ways you’re right. Maybe if they were installed in areas where it was necessary to slow down…like a replacement for speed bumps? As for the generated energy, I’m sure you’re correct that that’s a peak measurement. I guess the use of fly-wheels attempt to even out the energy. I’m just confused now! What about putting wind farms on top of cars? Would that work?!
December 21st, 2005 at 6:54 pmIndeed, all the article I’ve read quote the same power measurement of “up to 50kW”; a little bit lazy on the tech reporting. A simple measure of total energy as a function of vehicle weight and probably also velocity would be very interesting.
January 1st, 2006 at 9:39 pmAs you say James, these ramps might make sense in some locations but, to me, the scope for sensible use seems rather limited. Cheap energy for road owners maybe but, overall, not exactly an environmentally sound solution. Also, it might be no problem for most vehicles to negotiate these ramps, but what about cars with low slung exhausts, motorbikes and bicycles?
January 6th, 2006 at 9:00 pmAnyone got any idea how safe these are for cyclists? They sound potentially dangerous to me - especially if a bike is passing over the hump at the same time as a larger vehicle which suddenly depresses the panels.
I’m going to email the maufacturer to ask them.
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February 19th, 2006 at 7:57 pm