Step on it: D.C. plans 850-square-foot, $200K kinetic pocket park at Dupont Circle
Michael Neibauer, Staff Reporter- Washington Business JournalSometimes, the littlest improvements can make the biggest differences.
While there may be an opportunity to deck-over the unsightly, pedestrian-unfriendly Connecticut Avenue underpass in the future, as Greater Greater Washington recently reported, and the Dupont underground may become a micro-unit hotel, the District has a shorter term plan to breathe new life, and bring new energy (literally) to 850-square-feet of dull pavement immediately south of Dupont Circle.
The proposed $200,000 "Connecticut Avenue Overlook Parklet," to be funded by Mayor Vincent Gray's Sustainable DC initiative, will replace a 60-foot-by-28 foot concrete semi-circle in the Connecticut Avenue right-of-way, between Sun Trust Bank and the Dupont Circle Metro overlooking the underpass. Work will include the installation of 100 Pavegen kinetic pavers, which use the power of every footstep to create electricity.
Per a description of the project provided by the District to the National Capital Planning Commission, the project "will provide both a new park and an interesting new amenity in pedestrian-rich Dupont Circle that will showcase a fun, innovative way to generate renewable energy."
An 850-square-foot pocket park on a concrete island in the middle of Connecticut Avenue may not sound like much of a park at all, but it is better than what's there now — nothing but Metro bike lockers, which are scheduled to be removed. The space will certainly be used, at least as a stopover for the walk across Connecticut. ZGF Architects LLP, the park's designer, estimates that on average, 30,000 people will pass through daily.
The project will involve the demolition and reconstruction of the sidewalk pavement and curbs, and the installation of below-ground electrical conduit, a mix of London and kinetic energy pavers, seven black granite benches, six bollard-style bicycle racks, two landscaping beds, and a small plaque that includes a link to the project website and agency logos.
Each Pavegen kinetic unit generates electricity with every footstep, via a single cable connected to a battery that can be stored for later use. Pavegen tiles have been, or will be, installed at the Saint-Omer Train Station in Northern France, at Heathrow Airport and on London Bridge, outside the main entrance to London's Westfield Stratform City, as well as in various schools in England and New York.
The kinetic tiles on Connecticut Avenue will power on-site lighting integrated into the park's benches. If each of the projected 30,000 park users steps on 30 Pavegen pavers, the park will generate 456.25 kilowatts of energy annually. The pavers cost $840 each.
The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District has agreed to maintain the site, including the kinetic pavers, and to create a website that provides real time updates on the energy generated.
The NCPC is scheduled to review the pocket park project during its Sept. 4 meeting. D.C. hopes to start construction in October.
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2014/08/step-on-it-d-c-plans-850-square-foot-200k-kinetic.html?page=all
And this is the web site for Pavegen -
http://www.pavegen.com/
And about Pavegen from 2013 Scientific American -
Energy-Harvesting Street Tiles Generate Power from Pavement Pounder
By Dhananjay Khadilkar
Apr 20, 2013
These special “energy harvesting tiles” were developed by London-based Pavegen Systems. The power thus generated can be used to run low-voltage equipment such as streetlights and vending machines. The concept is the brainchild of Laurence Kemball-Cook, who founded Pavegen in 2009 to commercialize it. “The Paris Marathon is the first of many such projects that will enable us to realize our goal of taking this technology to retail sites, transport hubs, office blocks and infrastructure spaces,” he says.
Pavegen uses what it calls a hybrid black box technology to convert the energy of a footstep into electricity, which is either stored in a battery or fed directly to devices. A typical tile is made of recycled polymer, with the top surface made from recycled truck tires. A foot stomp that depresses a single tile by five millimeters produces between one and seven watts. These tiles generate electricity with a hybrid solution of mechanisms that include the piezoelectric effect (an electric charge produced when pressure is exerted on crystals such as quartz) and induction, which uses copper coils and magnets. The marathon runners generated 4.7 kilowatt-hours of energy, enough to power a five-watt LED bulb for 940 hours, or 40 days. “We came together for Paris Marathon to highlight how technology is really going to change the way people think about energy,” says Joe Hart, senior vice president of Segment & Solution Marketing at Schneider Electric.
Easy power collection sounds promising, but implementation is challenging. As Kemball-Cook says, “Installing the tiles in the ground is one of the hardest things to do as they have to be very durable, weather resistant and should have high fatigue resistance as well. Also, these tiles could get vandalized.”
Hart says that in a couple of years, Pavegen’s technology could become visible and apparent in a number of areas, not only as power units but also in security applications. “Each of those tiles has wireless capability—using which, we can analyze movement and optimize floor management.”
Pavegen is not alone in harvesting human kinetic energy to generate electricity. Max Donelan, founder of Canada-based Bionic Power, which has developed a wearable knee brace that harvests energy while walking, says the braces “can be useful when you need electricity without having to rely on the power grid. For example, our knee braces are being developed for military use in places like Afghanistan where battery cells are exorbitantly expensive.”
Energy-harvesting tiles may be just one step for man, but taking many such steps may lead to a more powerful and sustainable future.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pavement-pounders-at-paris-marathon-generate-power/
