AIRE Concept: Converting Passive Human Energy to Electricity!

I recently came across the TEDxgateway event which was held in Mumbai in December 2012 partnered by the Franklin Templeton Investments. For those of you unfamiliar with TED, let me introduce you to TED. TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Basically it provides a platform to the young generation to present their innovative ideas in making the world a better place to live in.

Some of you might be familiar with the TED Talks video site which shows the award winning innovations by young researchers - some of the researches are so simple yet so brilliantly effective! You'll end up wondering why didn't I think of this before! There is also a TED annual prize for the most innovative research of the year.

So, back to where I started - This year the Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxgateway event in December 2012. I was just watching the videos of the speakers in the event and was hugely inspired by their ideas that I couldn't resist telling the world about it through my blog and doing my bit in spreading the young innovations that we need now.

João Lammoglia, 27, provided a brilliant concept about human energy. We all are living in a techno-savy world where 90% of our work is dependent upon gadgets - be it your laptop, tab, or smart phone! recently, our smart phones have replaced the need of any other gadgets as they provide us with almost all the facilities and features we require and keeps us in touch with millions at once by the help of super-fast internet. However, here lies the catch - it runs on electricity. 

Electricity is one of our most treasured resources. Imagine living even a day -24 hours- without electricity and I can assure you it will be worst than a nightmare. When internet isn't working due to some technical problems, I can't even decide what to do with my laptop! :O But this electricity doesn't come cheap! The electricity sector in India had an installed capacity of 225.133 GW as of May 2013, the world's fifth largest. Captive power plants generate an additional 34.444 GW. Non Renewable Power Plants constitute 87.55% of the installed capacity and 12.45% of Renewable Capacity (Link). 

It is unsustainable to be using the non-renewable sources forever and besides, they are too harmful for the environment.The major contributor of non-renewable energy are coal based power plants and the extraction of coal from buried fossil fuels is literally catastrophic for the surroundings. We can always shift to renewable power like solar energy ad wind energy, but the problem is India doesn't have the strong solar efficiency or wind potential. 

We need a different solution - for which we have immense potential and which provides large amount of energy. 

Joao Lammoglia provided us with one such innovative idea - AIRE concept. AIRE is a mask that converts wind energy (provided by the wearer’s breath) into electricity for the recharging of small electronic devices by the use of small wind turbines. It uses the passive energy of the human power. We've seen several charging devices emerge in recent years that harness kinetic energy to power mobile devices, but this is the first we've come across that actually uses human respiration to power a gadget. Designer João Paulo Lammoglia won a Best of 2011 RedDot Design Award for the AIRE mask. The mask can be used while sleeping, reading or exercising, according to the description.

Mobile phones are small devices, but they can have a pretty significant environmental impact, creating as much as 1 metric ton of CO2 per year – so anything you can do to curb your energy use is of course a good thing. “Besides saving energy (and contributing to environmental preservation), it also encourages the practice of physical exercise,” writes Lammoglia in the product description. “Its energy is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”

Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012. (video)

I think using human power is a very innovative idea - my mental energy can be used to charge a gadget - already in love with the idea! :D It's my turn to do my bit for the environment. :)

This post is a part of The Idea Caravan contest organised by Franklin Templeton Investments and IndiBlogger.

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Wood Batteries: A Green Substitute to Lithium batteries

Sodium-ion batteries are a type of reusable battery that uses sodium-ions as a way to store power in a compact system. This type of battery is still in a developmental phase but is forecasted to be a cheaper, more durable way to store energy than commonly used lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are common in consumer electronics as they are one of the most popular types of rechargeable battery for portable electronics, with one of the best energy densities, no memory effect, and only a slow loss of charge when not in use.

Currently lithium-ion batteries are the preferred portable battery as after approximately 50 cycles most sodium-ion batteries tend to store only about 50% of original capacity. However, lithium batteries maintain their capacity. As lithium is in short supply, whereas sodium is much more abundant and also environment-friendly, it would greatly lower the price of the product if the modern day batteries were switched over to a sodium-ion cell.

Scientists at University of Maryland have designed a ‘green’ battery using a sliver of wood covered with tin. The various parts in the battery are a thousand times slimmer than a paper piece. They used wood fibers, which are apt for storing liquid electrolytes, allow the sodium-ion battery to keep going for more than 400 charging cycles.

It is being said that the wood fibers, which are soft and mesoporous, can be set up as a new platform for a budget sodium ion battery.

The study was published in journal Nano Letters.

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Environment's Mania!

Like every year, your FaceBook news-feed would be flooded with Happy Environment day's messages - cool status from everyone showing how caring they are for the environment, how they wore green today, special senti messages about the environment. They are good to cause awareness, but, in reality, how much do we actually do for our environment -NOTHING!

 

 

 

There isn't much of work if you really try to do something -your little bit - for the planet. There are simple things which don't even interfere with your comfort. I have given a short list of 10 points only to help you get ideas:

1. Don't waste water in your home - like while shaving, brushing , turn the tap off when you don't need water.
2. In office and colleges, use both sides of paper when taking a printout. In case of official used papers which are printed only on one side, you can use the back side for some rough work.
3. Start taking your own mug with you for tea, coffee.
4. Disconnect your phone charger when not using it. If it seems more convenient to let it be plugged in, then at least switch off the plug.The same goes for appliances like microwave oven, hair straightener, etc.
5. Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins.
6. Try to use recyclable materials rather than disposables as much as possible.
7. If not a tree, then may be a few plants at home would be a great idea for decor as well as the pollution control.
8. Carry a cloth bag/jute bag for grocery shopping instead of getting things in a plastic bag or paper bag! (Paper bag is as harmful as plastic ones as for making paper bags you still need to cut tress, and after one use it becomes crumbled or torn)
9. Installing CFLs instead of tube lights saves on energy as well as reduce your electricity bill.
10. Check energy rating when buying new appliances.

The best policy as one of my professors taught me is , "3 'R's - Reduce, Recycle, Reuse".

 

Here's a list of 50 ways to help the planet in simple ways - http://www.50waystohelp.com/

 

Leaving you with an CNN-IBN initiative to save the Western Ghats!

 

 

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