Rubber boots that have the ability to convert the heat generated by your feet into an electrical current is the focus of a new design by UK’s mobile phone company Orange. Dubbed Power Wellies, the rubber boots are designed to provide enough energy to power a cell phone. Created for the UK’s Glastonbury Festival, and as a promotion for Orange, the Power Wellies are a collaboration with renewable energy experts GotWind, and require about twelve hours of stomping to charge a mobile phone for an hour.
Here’s how they work:
Utilizing a 'power generating sole', energy is collected via a process known as the 'Seebeck' effect. Inside the power generating sole there are thermoelectric modules constructed of pairs of p-type and n-type semiconductor materials forming a thermocouple. The dissimilar metals generate a voltage when they experience a temperature difference. These thermocouples are then connected electrically and form an array of multiple thermocouples (thermopile). The thermopile is then sandwiched between two thin ceramic wafers. When the heat from the foot is applied on the topside of the ceramic wafer and a cold temperature is applied on the opposite side (from the cold ground), electricity is generated due to the resultant temperature gradient.
Visit: www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
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