Everybody just stop what you are doing right now and hear us out. No, in fact, please start walking more because your footsteps will help charge EVs in the future. And not just any EVs, we're referring to Tesla's Model S sedan. That is, if Pavegen proves a successful product.
Too many variables, right? Well, let's take one thing at a time and shake off the confusion. First in line, the gimmicks behind Pavegen tiles.
Pavegen is a 'clean tech' company established in London, UK. They develop and manufacture flooring technology that converts the wasted kinetic energy from footsteps into renewable electricity. That being said, it's worth noting the company believes their product can change future smart cities by providing a low-carbon energy contribution.
But we're interested in how will this apply to EV charging methods, so we'll focus on a recent video posted by Pavegen on YouTube. The whole clip is an experiment trying to see if people walking on a busy street can charge the battery of a Tesla Model S by taking into consideration a number of 'footfall assumptions' and the EPA rate for a Tesla, set at 382 Watt-hours per Mile.
According to the video's description, the system works. However, several hundred thousand steps are required to allow the vehicle to drive for 20 minutes on London's streets, considering each Pavegen tile generates up to 7 watts at 12 volts DC whenever someone walks on it.
Lastly, the company's conclusion was that "if the footsteps were used from one of London's busiest shopping locations: Oxford Street, enough energy would be generated from a day of people walking to drive a car 953 miles".
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