Image by compujeramey via Flickr

In physorg.com I found this post about a supermarket that “taps” energy out of the cars that drive into the parking lot.
It made me wonder : which are the other possibilities of letting others pay for your energy ?

Here are some examples I came up with. Feel free to add yours in a comment.

CARS :

• passing cars in front of your house
• at traffic lights to tap the energy at the passing cars to let the lights function.
• system to collect taxes for driving, in the form of energy, at high intensity roads,

PEDESTRIANS :

• doors in high traffic points like railway stations, shopping malls, office buildings, … could yield a lot of energy
• pedestrians : let them walk over energy-tapping rugs in shopping malls

SPORTSMEN / -WOMEN :

• fitness centers : what an energy would be produced when the fitness machines would store the energy produced by the people using it
• tennis rackets to recharge batteries, placed in the grip

OFFICES :

• keyboards button pressing, mouse movements, to power the screen or webcam, ..

I am sure there are a lot more examples to be found.

Another category is not the “stealing” of energy from people but just recycling energy that otherwise would be wasted. But that is for another post.

Did you liked this post ? Then you might be interested in the following :
Solar power ring : enough energy to fry the earth
What comes first ?
The limit of power
Science-fiction gadgets are near
No free will ?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Parking Lot Generates Energy (ubergizmo.com)
• Malls Seek Energy-Saving Initiatives To Cut Costs (environmentalleader.com)
• Speed bumps to create green energy (guardian.co.uk)