Human Power Production and Energy Harvesting

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Peer Reviewed

This is a peer-reviewed entry published in Encyclopedia Journal, full entry can be found at 10.3390/encyclopedia3020050

This entry presents a holistic examination of the problem of harvesting energy from the human body. With the advent of the industrial revolution, in modern times, there is less and less need for physical human work; at the same time, motion is essential for health. Thus, sports and physical leisure activities have seen a dramatic increase in popularity. Until several decades ago, energy consumption was not an issue, at least in developed countries, but in recent years, it has become more and more evident that energy resources are finite and that there are limits to how much anthropic pressure the environment can sustain; one evident outcome is global warming. The repurposing of human energy also has psychological benefits, making people socially responsible and transforming otherwise wasted potential into a rewarding activity. Thus, on a small scale, over time, it has become evident that re-using and saving energy are vital. Humans can produce a large amount of energy through physical work, but over the past few decades, technologies have been developed to store and reuse energy that would otherwise be wasted. Some interesting applications and a critical review of the problem, which is linked to human metabolism and sport, are presented.

human energy harvesting human power production environment energy balance

Human metabolism is strictly connected to the environment, and, on a large scale, to sustainability, pollution, and climate change. In fact, it is a well-established fact that “anthropic pressure” is the main determinant of environmental pollution, including the exploitation of resources, such as water and food. It is well known that ground consumption is also linked to human metabolism. The need to reduce carbon emissions worldwide is one of the biggest challenges science faces today and in the foreseeable future. In this definition, it refers to the amount of energy that humans use from the planet’s resources, which is the social sense of human consumption. The “green transition” and related increased public awareness about environmental problems motivated the search for alternative sources of energy. Historically, human beings have been studied as machines for energy production and consumption ^[1] and for their impact on the environment ^[2]. Energy harvesting from the human body is a rapidly developing field of research. Interest in harvesting energy from the human body is not new, and it is practically incorporated in some everyday use devices, such as automatic watches, which use energy from movement to charge. In this case, the oscillation of the arm (pendulum) during walking feeds the watch mechanism, which is used to store energy. Large movements with much greater applied force can generate higher energy, which can then be used to sustain the functioning of various devices (e.g., cell phones) and, in some cases, partially or totally, can even sustain the energy requirements of a gym or sports facility, particularly if harvested at the same time from many individuals ^[3]. The mechanical efficiency of the human body is in the range of 15–30%, which means that 70% of the energy provided by food is dissipated into heat ^[4].

The human body contains a great amount of energy. In fact, the average adult’s body fat deposits store as much energy as a one-ton battery ^[5], and it has been calculated that the monthly energy capacity of a person taking 7500 steps/day is equivalent to a 0.40 mAh battery rated at 1.2 V ^[6]. An average person could generate power comparable to a 1 m² solar panel on a sunny day and 10 m² of solar panels on an overcast day ^[7]. Robert Obrest, an athlete competing as a strongman, eats 15,000 to 20,000 calories per day, storing the capacity to produce a large amount of energy ^[8].

The heat from the body can be a source of continuous energy given that the core body temperature is maintained at 37 °C by the metabolic processes. It has been calculated that the whole human body can dissipate 60–180 W depending on the type of activity performed ^[9]. Thermoelectric devices have been proposed to harvest this energy, and it has been calculated that if this device has a conversion efficiency of ∼1%, the resulting power produced would be in the range of ~0.6–1.8 W, which is sufficient to supply energy to many wearable sensors ^[7]. This energy is generated from energy-dense sources (fat). Motion energy is particularly interesting as a source of energy because it has a power density as high as 200 μW/cm² and is available on demand ^[6], depending on fatigue. The average energy expenditure for one-person (energy used by the body) is 1.07 × 107 J per day ^[9], equivalent to 800 AA (2500 mAh) batteries, which would weigh about 20 kg. This amount of energy can be produced from 0.2 kg of body fat ^[10].

References

De La Mettrie, J.O. Machine Man and Other Writings; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2003.
Syvitski, J.; Waters, C.N.; Day, J.; Milliman, J.D.; Summerhayes, C.; Steffen, W.; Zalasiewicz, J.; Cearreta, A.; Gałuszka, A.; Hajdas, I.; et al. Extraordinary human energy consumption and resultant geological impacts beginning around 1950 CE initiated the proposed Anthropocene Epoch. Commun. Earth Environ. 2020, 1, 32.
Chen, J.; Bao, B.; Liu, J.; Wu, Y.; Wang, Q. Pendulum Energy Harvesters: A Review. Energies 2022, 15, 8674.
Winter, D.A. Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement, 3rd ed.; John Wiley and Sons: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2005.
Staff, S. Harvesting Energy from Humans. Available online: https://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2009-01/harvestingenergy-humans/ (accessed on 17 April 2023).
Mahapatra, S.D.; Mohapatra, P.C.; Aria, A.I.; Christie, G.; Mishra, Y.K.; Hofmann, S.; Thakur, V.K. Piezoelectric Materials for Energy Harvesting and Sensing Applications: Roadmap for Future Smart Materials. Adv. Sci. 2021, 8, e2100864.
Homayounfar, S.Z.; Andrew, T.L. Wearable Sensors for Monitoring Human Motion: A Review on Mechanisms, Materials, and Challenges. SLAS Technol. 2020, 25, 9–24.
Robert Obrest. Available online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Oberst (accessed on 17 April 2023).
Riemer, R.; Shapiro, A. Biomechanical energy harvesting from human motion:theory, state of the art, design guidelines and future directions. J. Neuroeng. Rehabil. 2011, 8, 22.
McArdle, W.D.; Katch, F.I.; Katch, V.L. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance, 5th ed.; Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins: New York, NY, USA, 2001.

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Antonio Cicchella

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