Electronics

From wild AC to warm pathways.

The motor makes electricity, but it comes out messy. Like, three-waves-all-over-the-place messy. This is how I clean it up, store it, and put it to work heating the pathways outside.

The power path

Six pit stops between a footstep and a snow-free path.

GL100 motor

Spinning, it works as a generator and makes 3-phase AC: three waves, evenly spaced.

Bridge rectifier

Flips every negative swing so the electricity only pushes one way.

Built from Vishay VF20200C Schottky diodes (5 packages).

Smoothing capacitor

Holds a little charge and fills in the dips, so the bumps even out.

Charge controller

Keeps the voltage steady and fills the battery safely.

Lithium-ion battery bank

Stores the energy from every step until someone needs it.

Heated walkways

The stored energy heats the flooring outside, so snow can’t settle on the pathways at Sugar Bowl all winter.

Same power, other uses: it could charge a phone, too.

What it’s for

Keeping the pathways clear.

The plan for the pilot floor at Sugar Bowl isn’t to charge phones. It’s to power a heated flooring system outside, so the pathways stay clear of snow all winter.

Every step on the tiles inside gets stored in the battery bank, and that stored energy goes to heating the pathways outside. Walk in, and the path out stays clear.

And yes, the same electricity could charge a phone too. It just isn’t the main job.

First test

Now with a load: real power.

0to0W per step

Roughly, per step, measured with a load connected.

With a load connected, one step makes roughly 6.5 to 8 watts. Earlier, on my OWON oscilloscope with nothing connected, a hard push peaked at 65 to 70 volts, which shows how hard the tile pushes.

On the bench

From wild AC to warm pathways.

Six pit stops between a footstep and a snow-free path.

Keeping the pathways clear.

Now with a load: real power.

The circuit, and the carbon-printed enclosures that keep it together.