Powering Lights with Piezoelectric Energy-Harvesting Floors
Open accessAbstract
The present work introduces a new technology for converting energy from steps into electricity. It starts with a study of the mechanical energy available from steps in a busy corridor. The subsequent development efforts and devices are presented, with an iterative approach to prototyping. Methods for enhancing the piezoelectric conversion efficiency have been determined as a part of the process and are introduced in the present article. Capitalizing on these findings, we have fabricated energy‐harvesting devices for stairs that power embedded emergency lighting. The typical working unit comprises an energy‐harvesting stair nosing, a power management circuit, and an embedded light‐emitting diode that lights the tread in front of the user with an illuminance corresponding to emergency standards. The stair nosing generates up to 17.7 mJ of useful electrical energy per activation to provide up to 10.6 seconds of light. The corresponding energy density is 0.49 J per meter square and per step, with an 8.5 mm thick active layer.
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An 8×7 matrix of piezoelectric diaphragms of 50 mm outer diameter generated up to 17.7 mJ of energy per activation, sufficient to turn on emergency lighting for 10.6 s.
“These tiles were installed on stairs to power emergency lighting and were able to generate up to 17.7 mJ of energy per activation, suf ficient to turn on the light for 10.6 s.”
From A review of piezoelectric energy harvesting tiles: Available designs and future perspective (2022) · cites this paper as [82]
The Design of an energy harvesting tile section identifies the 8×7 array of 50 mm circular membranes. But the Conclusions say that first tile generated up to 2.4 mJ per step; the Upgraded energy harvesting devices for stairs section and Figure 20 assign 17.7 mJ and 10.6 seconds of emergency light to a later stair device using preloaded piezoelectrics. The claim combines the first tile’s construction with the later device’s performance. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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- Authors
- Puscasu, O., Counsell, N., Herfatmanesh, M. R., Peace, R., Patsavellas, J., & Day, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Hertfordshire (GB)
- Altro Ltd Works Road SG61NW Letchworth UK
- Corresponding author
- Puscasu, Onoriu
- Venue
- Energy Technology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-03-06
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 906-916
- ISSN
- 2194-4288 (ISSN-L)
- 2194-4296
- OpenAlex
- W2791149179
- Semantic Scholar
- 8dc28783a292d8b03b3fe0624a3c92091c44fc00
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 1.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Energy Technology (publishedVersion)
- Research Open (London South Bank University) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- University of Hertfordshire Research Archive (University of Hertfordshire) (acceptedVersion)
- University of Hertfordshire Research Archive (University of Hertfordshire) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Innovate UK (KTP009704)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Innovative Energy Harvesting Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Nuclear Energy and Engineering › Advanced Energy Technologies and Civil Engineering Innovations
- Keywords
- piezoelectric energy harvesting, stairs, mechanical energy harvesting, conversion efficiency, LED lighting, power management circuit, energy density
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