Critical Literature Review

An investigation into the efficiency of Pavegen’s kinetic flooring system within a commercial building

1.0  Introduction

     1.1  Pavegen System
      
     2.0  Footfall in Relationship with Energy Output
     2.1  Footfall in Relationship with Energy Output: Section Conclusion

     3.0 Economic Impact
     3.1 Economic Impact: Section Conclusion

     4.0 Case Study – Renaissance Works Offices, London 
     4.1 Case Study – St. Omer Station, Northern France
     4.2 Case Studies: Section Conclusion

     5.0 Comparison to Other Sustainable Technologies

     6.0 Executive Conclusion

     7.0 Bibliography

1.0 Introduction

‘In the current era, which is witnessing a skyrocketing of energy costs and an exponential decrease in the supplies of fossil fuels, there arises a need to develop methods for judicious use of energy which lay emphasis on protecting the environment. One of the novel ways to accomplish this is through energy harvesting [1]’ (Dhingra et al., 2012).

This paper will examine the potential of implementing kinetic floor tiles within aspects of an office development, both externally and internally. The combination of piezoelectric material [2] and footfall harnessing [3] can generate off-grid renewable energy, such power can then be utilised to operate lighting systems and electronic devices.

1.1 Pavegen System

The Pavegen floor tiles move a slight 5 millimeters when stepped on, capturing kinetic energy which is either stored in lithium polymer batteries beneath its surface or converted into watts of electricity and distributed throughout surrounding lights. (Abdalla Mohammed, 2016).

The generator of this system is the user’s footsteps as indicated in fig.1, contrasted to other sustainable technologies this system does not depend upon the input of solar gains, tidal and wave power etc. Pavegen have made efforts to ensure that the end-user and public are made aware of the contribution this technological advancement is having on the environment. This has been achieved as the centre of the tile illuminates when stepped upon, not only informing the passer-by of their contribution to the environment but also encouraging the continuation of sustainable awareness (Abdalla Mohammed, 2016).

Fig.1. Distribution generation model (Karakiewicz, 2015)

2.0 Footfall in Relationship with Energy Output

Footfall is the only variable factor, which affects the amount of electrical output from Pavegen’s kinetic tiles. Pavegen’s CEO and inventor Laurence Kemaball-Cook has stated that the latest version of the tile has enough current to power a light for 70 seconds from just three footsteps (McClary, 2016b). This suggests that the kinetic floor tiles need to be situated in a place of high footfall in order to gain optimal energy output.

The tiles have been tested rigorously, 7 watts per pedestrian can be reached. Pavegen have combined several engineering principles in a way that has never been done before. (Lomas, 2015) Laurence Kemball-Cook is confident with his technology and he claims that if 20 meters of Pavegen were to be installed on Oxford Street in London, there would be more than enough power that’s needed for all the street lighting along that stretch. So, a 20-meter array could kick out in the region of 1,500 watts, there are systems that can produce megawatts (Lomas, 2015). When assessing the scale of this technology, it has the capability of being applied to walkways that are outside of a multi-storey office development, particularly the entrance where kinetic energy could be harnessed to power lighting.

Further to the experimentation along Oxford Street, London, (McClary, 2016a) estimates that the busy street has 113,000 weekday pedestrians and this rises to 500,000 during peak periods. Based on these figures, (McClary, 2016a) reckons that Pavegen could yield 3,200 watt hours a day. This study emphasises the abundance of electricity that can be produced given that the levels of footfall traffic are relatively high.

The incorporation of Pavegen floor tiles in Canada has been studied by (Cramm, El-Sherif, and Lee, 2011) focussing on the application within a university building. Their findings show that during peak hours the Pavegen floor tile will be stepped on 926-1889 times per hour during peak hours and 0-719 times during off peak hours, which works out to be approximately 56 kWh per week day. The results of (Cramm, El-Sherif, and Lee, 2011) are promising to reducing C02 emissions significantly and maximising energy output using the kinetic flooring system, therefore the results should be replicable in an office environment of much larger scale.

2.1 Footfall in relationship with energy output: Section Conclusion

It is evident through literary sources that there is a correlation between the amount of Pavegen tiles and amount of energy output; more tiles are required to generate higher amounts of electricity.  From the research articles discussed within this section it is difficult to determine the exact amount of tiles required for the Temple Quays Business Hub project. Further experimentation would need to be conducted in order to form the implementation of the Pavegen technology.

3.0 Economic Impact

The financial evaluation of Pavegen floor tiles should not only consider initial capital costs but also additional costs such as maintenance and repair (Cramm, El-Sherif, and Lee, 2011). The initial outlay of this technology cost around £5,000 for a single tile, today the product is batch manufactured for under £250 (icrowdnewswire, 2016).

The study carried out by (Cramm, El-Sherif, and Lee, 2011) found that the total cost of the eight Pavegen slabs is $30,800 and requires a down payment of $15,000, with the remaining $15,800 to be paid over three years. (Cramm, El-Sherif, and Lee, 2011) concluded that this does seem costly for a newly established and innovative technology.

This system has a drawback in terms of additional costs for shipping, installation, maintenance, insurance and disposal fees. The products size and weight could be problematic, meaning extra shipping fees may be added. (Cramm, El-Sherif, and Lee, 2011) Although, the initial investment would see smart materials and efficient technologies implemented within the flooring system, maintenance could prove to be costly if failure or damage occurs.

3.1 Economic Impact: Section Conclusion

On balance, the investment into the system would bring more benefits than any drawbacks, nevertheless the affordability needs to be taken into consideration dependant on the organisation that operates the office development. If Pavegen’s kinetic flooring system is proven to reduce running costs and C02 emissions on a yearly basis, then the technology should be implemented and invested in.

As previously discussed the Pavegen Technology started out with a cost of £5,000 and is now under £250, which implies that the company has made reinvestments due to the success it has seen and it could potentially be even cheaper in years to come. In relation to Temple Quays Business Hub, the affordability aspect needs to be taken into consideration so that the proposed owners can have sufficient finances to maintain the system.

4.0 Case Study – Renaissance Works Offices, London

Pavegen’s kinetic flooring system has a wide range of applications across the world. One case study, which can be related to this paper is the permanent retro-fitted installation of Pavegen tiles at Renaissance Works contemporary in London.

‘We installed our retro-fit technology in under 1 hour on a raised flooring system. The tiles are used to power lighting in the office and offer wireless connectivity and online footfall data tracking.’ (Pavegen, 2016).

Fig.2. Pavegen Floor Tiles in Renaissance Works Offices, London (Pavegen, 2016)

4.1 Case Study - St. Omer Train Station, Northern France

This particular installation focused on harvesting commuters footsteps outside the train station, which generated LED lighting and street lighting as well as providing power for USB ports to charge mobile devices. The train station benefits from the Pavegen technology as it can be utilised for data analytics and pedestrian traffic flow management, the data captured from the commuters footsteps are displayed on a screen inside the train station.

Fig.2. Pavegen Floor Tiles Outside St. Omer Train Station, France (Pavegen, 2016)

4.2 Case Study: Section Conclusion

In evaluation, both the Renaissance, London and St Omer Station, France have benefitted in different ways from the implementation of Pavegen technology. The benefits of this technology being incorporated within the office environment are that employees can effectively contribute towards triggering lighting only when people are there. The tiles were allocated in the main entrance foyer within the Renaissance building and this could be replicable in the design of Temple Quays Business Hub. However, the exact amount of tiles required is something that will be determined at a later stage.

Furthermore, the Pavegen flooring system can be retro-fitted quickly and efficiently, which is relatively advantageous as it can be installed at any given time within Temple Quays Business Hub. In terms of environmental and social benefits, the Pavegen Technology would help raise awareness of green technology and promote sustainability within the work place.

5.0 Comparison to Solar Power

When comparing Pavegen’s kinetic technology to solar power (McClary, 2016a) mentions that there is more floor space than usable real estate for solar, particularly in inner cities due to shadowing from buildings. Kinetic technology has an advantage in contrast to solar power as discussed by (McClary, 2016a) – ‘solar is limited to daylight hours and peaks around midday, power by Pavegen can be generated around the clock as long as there are people moving.’

Furthermore, using the Oxford Street example, Pavegen believes it would need only 114,000 pedestrians a day to walk down the famous street to match the energy produced  by solar (McClary, 2016a). However, when considering sustainable technologies in the context of a multi-storey office development, the entire building will be unable to depend solely on kinetic technology and therefore another method will need to be adopted in conjunction with Pavegen’s flooring system in order to provide a sustainable means of energy production throughout the building’s lifespan. 

6.0  Executive Conclusion

On reflection of all sources analysed within this paper, it can be concluded that Pavegen kinetic technology can be implemented into the Temple Quays Business Hub with positive influences on energy consumption. However, cost implications may be the major limiting factor and drawback when considering the implementation during design stage. This is primarily due to the technology being innovative and relatively new on the market within the built environment. Despite this, it is notable that there has been a significant reduction in the manufacturing cost of the product from when it was first launched and there is potential for this to further reduce in the near future. 

Another limitation within this paper is the fact that the majority of literary sources and information is biased and in favour of Pavegen’s kinetic tiles, instead of assessing the flaws and drawbacks of the technology.  

It is important that end-users and the public are educated about this technological advancement and made aware of its positive contribution on the environment. In this paper, the case study of St. Omer train station in Northern France was explored. The successful aspect about this particular example was that the commuter’s footsteps can be displayed on a screen inside the station. This could be replicable within Temple Quays Business Hub, which will indicate the amount of energy produced by employees and visitors.

Current research identified, has not explored Revit plugins to maximise efficiencies, in terms of the number of Pavegen tiles required and the output. This will be calculated through the use of such Revit plugins, which will further the level of accuracy and energy performance modelling within a specific building.

The next steps of this research paper will involve the author carrying out experimentation, which will inform the exact quantity and allocation of Pavegen tiles within an office development scheme. In order to aid the Revit plugins, primary research will also be carried out through the use of surveys and questionnaires as the views of potential end-users are important.

7.0 Bibliography

Abdalla Mohammed, A. (2016) ‘“Life Energy Architecture”’, Procedia Environmental Sciences, p. 8.

Cramm, J., El-Sherif, A. and Lee, J. (2011) ‘Investigating the feasibility of implementing Pavegen energy harvesting piezoelectric floor tiles in the new SUB’, University of British Columbia.

Dhingra, P., Biswas, J., Prasad, A. and Meher, S.S. (2012) ‘Energy Harvesting using Piezoelectric Materials’, International Conference on Electronic Design and Signal Processing, pp. 38–41.

icrowdnews (2016) Icrowdnews. Available at: http://icrowdnewswire.com/2015/06/02/pavegen-converts-footsteps-into-electricity-to-power-services-in-high-footfall-locations-and-provide-real-time-data-for-analytics/ (Accessed: 27 November 2016).

Karakiewicz, J. (2015) ‘Pedestrian as generator: Implementing stand-alone piezo power in the urban context’, University of Melbourne, Australia, p. 2.

Lomas, N. (2015) Pavegen kicks off Crowdcube campaign to power up its kinetic flooring business. Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/25/pavegen-kicks-off-crowdcube-campaign-to-power-up-its-kinetic-flooring-business/ (Accessed: 26 November 2016).

McClary, S. (2016a) Tech: Pavegen – the technology behind the tile. Available at: http://www.egi.co.uk/news/pavegens-the-technology-behind-the-tile/ (Accessed: 27 November 2016).

McClary, S. (2016b) ‘Tech’, estatesgazzette.com, p. 50.

Partridge, J.S. and Bucknall, R.W.G. (2016) ‘An analysis of the energy flow and energy potential from human energy harvesting with a focus on walking’, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING.

Rains, B. (2016) Pelé continues to support the Pavegen kinetic energy soccer fields once again. Available at: http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/07/06/sports/soccer/pele-continues-to-support-the-pavegen-kinetic-energy-soccer-fields-once-again/ (Accessed: 30 November 2016).

Pavegen (2016a) Renaissance Works Offices. Available at: http://www.pavegen.com/rcp (Accessed: 29 November 2016).

 

[1] Energy harvesting – Or energy scavenging, is a process that captures small amounts of energy that would otherwise be lost as heat, vibration or movement.

[2] Piezoelectric material – A material that has a special property of producing electrical voltage in response to an applied force. 

[3] Footfall harnessing – Collecting volumes of footsteps to later be converted into electricity.