Harvesting green energy from white snow
S. Himmelstein | May 03, 2019Falling snow is a nuisance to travellers, but a boon to skiers. Now it is renewable power production resource. An international research team has demonstrated 
The snow-TENG can be used as a wearable power source and biomechanical sensor to detect human body motions, which may prove useful for snow-related sports. Source: Abdelsalam Ahmed/University of Torontothe concept of snow-triboelectrification with a snow-based energy harvester.
The compact, low-cost triboelectric generator (TENG) generates power from the static electricity produced as positively-charged snow comes into contact with negatively-charged silicone. The device, composed of a layer of silicone and a charge-capturing electrode, is 3D printed and was shown to deliver a power density of 0.2 mW/m2 and an open circuit voltage up to 8 V.
The snow-TENG also operates as a self-powered sensor to monitor snowfall rate, accumulation depth, wind direction and speed in snowy or icy environments. The system can serve as a wearable power source and biomechanical sensor to detect human body motions, which may prove useful for snow-related sports.
The researchers envision deployment of the battery-less system in remote areas and its incorporation into solar panels to enable continued power generation when covered with snow. Scientists from University of Toronto, McMaster University (Canada), University of Connecticut, Tanta University (Egypt), University of California Los Angeles and National University of Ireland contributed to this development.
Let's read that again: 0.2 mW per square meter. I think you get more power from EKG pads on your chest.
In reply to #1
Wow 0.2mW per sq m, and by the picture the pad is what 0.1m x 0.1m so that makes it 0.01 sqm so the available power would be 0.002mW, no way to cook the Sunday roast or even light a LED.
In reply to #1
"The researchers envision deployment of the battery-less system in remote areas and its incorporation into solar panels to enable continued power generation when covered with snow."
Solar panels can produce 150-200W per square meter, almost 1 million times as much power as snow powered triboelectricity (200 μW/m2).
In reply to #3
Forsooth, is it not noteworthy to know where the money is spent in useless devices. Soon we will have thousands of feet treading the Arctic to generate a whole Watt costing $200000.00. No worry on the expense, feed the cat another goldfish.
If you think about Global Warming/Climate Change in its perverse sense of a being a sickness, then the "Energiewende" is the medicine that will eventually kill the doctor while the low-cost triboelectric generator (TENG) is the homeopathic cure, with at least a measurable placebo effect.
Is irony ever an accident? Anyone know the social history of lightbulbs, cars, answering machines, PCs, movies, new genres of music (e.g. Rock and Roll), 3D printing. Most things start small, critics never last.
In reply to #6
The irony is, what is important to business people is market and profit. What is important to most people is the exact opposite. Not much use for people who live in snowless countries who actually need the power. That is irony.