The Benefits Of Pavegen

2195 Words5 Pages

On average, one person will walk about 150 million steps in their lifetime (Phillips). What if these footsteps could actually be harnessed and converted to a form of energy that could actually help power the world? The very notion seems to come straight out of a science fiction novel about a utopian society. However, one man has taken the steps to make this dream a reality. Laurence Kemball-Cook has developed a product called Pavegen; essentially, it is a rubber tile that can, “harvest kinetic energy from the impact of people stepping on them” (Jain). By harnessing energy generated from footsteps, Pavegen can help to power appliances such as cellphones and streetlights. The idea behind Pavegen is to develop an accessible product that can help lower economic bills, and to make a positive impact environmentally. If similar products were produced around the world, Pavegen tiles could help businesses in taking one step closer to building a sustainable and environmentally whole planet Earth. Pavegen tiles are a revolutionary product that have the potential to help the world move towards utilizing cleaner energy. Pavegen is based on the idea of movement- specifically, the action of walking. The tiles convert the kinetic energy of a footstep into electricity. The top of the tile is completely made up of recycled rubber, and the bottom is made up of 80% recycled material (Pavegen). The tiles can be installed in buildings that are currently under construction, or they can be installed in place of existing tiles. These tiles can be installed indoors, or outdoors, as they are designed to resist severe conditions and are waterproof. A fraction of this electricity generated goes towards lighting up the interactive Pavegen display on the tile (... ... middle of paper ... ...ources of energy. Although Pavegen has very promising potential, and it is built upon a worthy premise, the actual sustainability and accessibility of the product is limited. The high price of each tile restricts the number of tiles that can be installed, and reduces the amount of energy that can be generated on a whole. It also limits the possibilities of locations for installations- rural, impoverished villages could greatly benefit from this product, but because of the price, they would not be able to afford it. Pavegen tiles will also not be able to sustain themselves in countries that require long distance exportation. The tiles will not produce enough energy to help offset the environmental damages that occurred from exporting these tiles. Therefore, Pavegen can only be considered a sustainable and energy friendly resource when it is installed near England.

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