Eco-design and human-powered products

Thierry Kazazian*1, Arjen Jansen2

O2 France PES research group, Delft University of Technology

* Corresponding Author, [email protected] +33 1 43 57 92 02

Abstract
This paper presents the relation between eco-design and human-powered products. The results of a number of design projects in the field of eco-design are presented; they focus on the use of human power as a renewable energy source for consumer products. Human-powered energy systems are powered by muscular work from the human body. Opportunities for human-powered energy systems are reduction of life cycle costs and energy selfsufficiency. Challenges can be found in identifying scenarios where the concept of human power is adopted by consumers. Eco-design proves helpful in providing a platform for radical innovations driving the introduction of human-powered technology.

Introduction

The steadily increasing global energy consumption causes growing numbers of environmental problems. Also, it is becoming clear that Europe is most likely not able to comply fully with the Kyoto agreements on CO2 reduction. For this reason, the societal and political pressure to develop products with lower energy consumption is starting to build. The proliferation of nomad products (computers, phones, PDAs, cameras, etc.) and their associated energy needs involve a vast amount of batteries. 600 million batteries consumed in France become 2500 tons of toxic waste to treat. Especially in durable consumer goods, the energy required during the use phase of the product exceeds the energy required for its production. Calculations at Philips, based on approximately 50 life cycle impact benchmarking studies show that energy consumption in electronic products is responsible for 50 to 85 % of the total environmental impact of these products. And also; Energy consumption in the use phase is ranked both by customers and sales staff as the most important issue to be addressed.[1] Therefore, paying attention to energy issues in eco-design seems a logical and straight forward approach when it comes to making environmental improvements. So far this view has not been embraced by both the (eco-)design community and the (eco-)design research community. The analysis of 850 papers published at conferences between 98 and 02 in the field of eco-design (Care, EGG, IEEE and Eco-design in Europe, USA and Japan) shows a strong emphasis

on end-of-life. Issues that have a high legislative and/or emotional priority appear to dominate the choice of research topics - something which cannot always be justified from a scientific point of view. And research on energy consumption of products receives little attention, when it is a dominating factor on the environmental impact at products life cycle. [2] Also, the recent volatility of oil prices once again highlighted the dependence of our vulnerable economies on this black gold. This situation is unlikely to change in the long-term as oil prices will inevitably rise when we approach depletion. This paper reflects the work of both O2 France (Paris) and the PES research group at Delft University of Technology. We cooperated in a number of projects on the application of human-powered energy systems in consumer products. Recently, we joined forces in the redesign of a human-powered radio [3].

1.1

O2 France

O2 France is a private company dedicated towards environmental product and service improvement. At O2 France, sustainable development is a source of inspiration, innovation and enthusiasm. Our mission is to support companies in the inevitable evolution towards a sustainable society in which well-being and environmental protection govern by creating awareness amongst clients and integrating sustainable development into the bussiness strategy.

A significant part of the effort of O2 France is dedicated towards the reduction of the environmental impact of CO2 emissions due to energy consumption. Whenever possible, renewable energy sources should be used in products. In France, this process is called decarbonisation (decarboniser des produits).

toys/emergency equipment), independent from (energy)infrastructure, fun, convenience (not having to think of batteries) and low life cycle costs.

2.1.1

Reduction of life cycle costs

1.2

Personal Energy Systems research group

The research effort of the PES (Personal Energy Systems) research group at Delft University of Technology aims at providing methods and tools for design engineers to put more green energy into their products. We focus at the application of alternative energy systems in personal products (photo voltaic, fuel cells and human-powered energy systems). These issues need to be addressed in the early phases of the design process in order to achieve the required results in the final product. The research into human-powered energy systems started as the logical result from our experiences in environmental benchmarking and eco-design. The research now aims in particular at modelling the interaction between the user and the human-powered product. Practical experiences in applying this model will result in direct applicable design guidelines for industrial design engineers. These design guidelines will help in discovering the boundaries of the humanpowered technology and defining products which can compete with products powered as usual. The methodological approach followed in this project is CBR (case based reasoning). From design cases we try to learn the key issues in the design of human powered products.

The reduction of life cycle costs largely depends on the use scenario of the product, i.e. the power consumption during the use phase of the product life cycle. Not having to buy batteries will probably account for the largest part of the reduction of life cycle costs. The table below presents the constituent parts of the life-cycle cost balance. Further research will provide quantitative data for this balance. Powered as usual
+ simple energy within the product

Human-powered energy system

system + no additional costs for energy during the use-phase - costs of energy system within the product (user interface, generator and possibly energy storage device)

- purchase of new (primary) batteries or energy consumption for recharging secondary batteries + additional costs of charger

Table 1: Life-cycle cost balance for powered as usual vs. human-powered products.

2.1.2

Energy self-sufficiency

Human Powered is the concept of energy selfsufficiency brought down to an individual scale. Human Powered can be enlarged to include a number of local renewable energy needs: Home power; the electricity independent house Factory power, the firm City power and perhaps even more The value of producing objects that are not only clean but also autonomous is obvious: this is an opportunity for total energetic independence, on an individual level. We can use a product with no limits of time or place. O2 France is developing/seeking applications of these principles, especially for firms needing energy independence in hostile environments.

1.3

Content of this paper

This paper will show the opportunities and challenges in the design of human-powered energy systems in consumer products (chapter 2), discuss the environmental impact of human-powered products (both from an LCA and consumer educational point of view, chapter 3) and present four design studies by O2 France and two similar projects from companies (chapter 4). We will conclude with a discussion of the work.

2.2

Challenges

Opportunities and challenges

In earlier research we defined a number of opportunities and challenges for the design of humanpowered energy systems in products.

Obstacles to the widespread distribution of Human powered products are mostly subjective and can be seen as interesting challenges for designers. The role of Eco-design is to find scenarios of use in which this concept is adopted by consumers.

2.1

Opportunities

Opportunities arise from specific human-powered product attributes as: long shelf life (in

2.2.1

Back to the future?

At a first glance, Human powered products may seem like antiquated technology, like the first wind-up phone. But we should remember that the first hydrogen engine worked in the middle of the XIX century and the internal combustion engine is over one hundred years old. Therefor, the issue is not aging technology but just poor performance.

different way: by encouraging your effort in producing your own energy, the waste of energy is made visible. Finally, sustainable development might require to make a shift from global to local production and consumption. In the transport of electricity, 6% of the French energy output is lost in high-tension cabling. So again, in this case, local is good.

2.2.2

Comfort

Design studies by O2 France

Human-powered products are synonymous with effort. Turning a crank, pulling a cord and pedalling are not movements in accordance with the perception of modern products. Given the fact that putting work into a product is by definition adding discomfort and thus decreasing the perception and experience of comfort of a product, this should be carefully balanced with the advantages of the human-powered energy systems. In earlier research [4], we defined a comfort-model for human-powered products. Once the user experiences discomfort in using a humanpowered products, he will balance the added discomfort with the perceived need of the product and accept the discomfort or reject the use of the product. Variables influencing this balance will be product related, situational (time and place) and depend on personal experiences, expectations and abilities.

The following design studies are recently published by O2 France in [7]. O2 used the logo below (see fig. Xxx b) to create a catching brand name.

Figure 1: Logo for the O2 project Fill it up with energy [7]

4.1

The human-powered gym (Les clubs Human Power)

Environmental benefits

In this chapter we will elaborate on the environmental benefits of human-powered energy systems and its possible societal impact due to rising consumer awareness.

We have imagined an energy fitness club where people could reload their mobile phone or their computer while getting in shape. We estimate that 10 minutes on an exercise bicycle could reload a mobile phone (2 Watts produced). One could even imagine a rechargeable batteries trademark under the name Human Power [7]

3.1

Results from LCA studies

Calculating the environmental benefit of humanpowered energy systems is based upon the fact these products do not consume energy from non-renewable sources during the use-phase of the life cycle. The use of human energy is non-polluting in LCA methods. In earlier studies human power was calculated to be two to three times less polluting then conventional energy sources over a five year life-cycle. [5] Although hard to quantify, human-powered energy systems also feature a lower potential toxicity compared to batteries.

Figure 2: Working principle of the humanpowered gym [7]

3.2

Possible societal impact

Human power is not only green from the scientific (LCA) perspectives, consumers perception of humanpowered products is green as well [6]. Human Powered products help their users to think in a

4.2

The piezo powered shoe sole (La semelle piezo)

Initiatives from industry and NGOs.

With every step, the integrated piezo elements charge a rechargeable battery. The use of piezo elements in shoes has been demonstrated in [8]

The following two examples show two adjacent initiatives.

5.1

The TNO-Nike human-powered gym

Figure 3: Piezo inlay sole [7]

Research at Kathalys, a joint venture between TNO and DUT has also been focussing on possibilities of human-powered energy systems (see figure 6). Knowledge from Kathalys has been used in a study for Nikes European Headquarters (Hilversum, The Netherlands). The question was; how can the personal energy of employees be used in a fun and sustainable manner? See figure 8 on the next page.

4.3

Manually rechargeable batteries (Les piles manuchargeables)

The battery contains an on-board generator. The battery is charged by rotating the knob on one side of the battery.

Figure 6 : What to do with a Watt [9]

Figure 4: Manually rechargeable batteries [7]

The data from figure 6 can also be represented in a table, in order to give an impression of the amount of energy spent when riding a bike.

4.4

The bicycle charged cell phone (Le Pince a dynamo)

30 seconds 4 minutes 20 minutes 7 hours 7 hours of cycling equals

1 hour music on a discman running a watch for life Charging a cell phone one workday of energizing a 60 W light bulb 4 hours of computer use

The click-on device is mounted on the steer of the bicycle, it uses electricity from the dynamo in order to charge your cellular phone.

Table 2: the relation between energy expenditure of cycling and the energy consumption of some consumer products

Figure 5: The bicycle charged cell phone [7]

5.2

The Orange beach cruiser

Recently, the GSM network provider Orange started a campaing to give free bikes with every subscription to their network. The bikes dynamo is used to charge a cell phone (mounted on the steer).

Figure 7: The beach cruiser by Orange [10]

Discussion

Taking eco-design as a starting point for the design of human-powered products proves to be seedlings in fertile ground. Nevertheless, this differs from the consumers viewpoint. From various studies, we know that environment as such plays no dominant role in the buying behaviour of consumers. Only small consumer groups (approx. 5%) can be labelled as green buyers. The majority of consumers is interested in human power due to its other attributes as; long shelf life (in toys/emergency equipment), independent from (energy)infrastructure, low life cycle costs, convenience (not having to think of batteries) and fun! Eco-design only really works in commercial practice if it brings benefits to both users, the environment, the company involved and society as a whole. Customer benefits should be a mix of both material, immaterial and emotional benefits. [11] Embracing human-powered energy systems early in the design process can be quite radical; it forces the design engineer to take a different approach towards all energy related issues of a certain functionality. It also offers the design engineer a new starting point for the redesign of products that existed for a long time in a more general way. [11]

Figure 8: Concept the Nike human-powered gym

References

[1] Stevels ALN, Agema R and Hoedemaker E Green marketing of consumer electronics. In Proceedings of ISEE,/IEEE 2001 Symposium on electronics an the environment, US, pp 590-594 ISNB 0-7695-1266-6/01 [2] Pascual O, Boks C, Stevels ALN Electronics EcoDesign Research Empirically Studied, In Proceedings of EcoDesign 2003: Third International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing, Tokyo, Japan, December 8-11, 2003. [3] Zuidema, D Design of a human-powered product for O2 France, graduation report Fac of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, 2001. [4] Jansen AJ and Slob P Human power; comfortable one-hand cranking. In: Folkeson A et. al. Proceedings of ICED, International Conference on Engineering Design, Stockholm, Sweden. 2003 [5] Jansen AJ and Stevels ALN Human power, a sustainable trend for consumer electronics. In: Proceedings of 1999 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics & the Environment, 11-13 May 1999, Boston, USA. [6] Jansen AJ and Stevels ALN Human power; an environmental myth? In; Horvth and Xirouchakis, Proceedings of the TMCE 2004, April 13-17, 2004, Lausanne, Switzerland. [7] Kazazian, T Il y aura lge des choses lgres, Victoires-ditions - RCS Paris France 2003 ISBN 2-908056-60-7 [8] Shenck NA and Paradiso JA Energy Scavenging with Shoe-Mounted Piezoelectrics, IEEE Micro, Vol. 21, No. 3, May-June 2001, pp. 30-42 [9] Brezet, H, Vergragt, P, Horst, T van der Vision on Sustainable Products Innovation, Kathalys, BIS Publishers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2001, ISBN 90-6369-013-4 [10] www.orange.nl/acties/beachcruiser/index.php [11] Jansen AJ and Stevels ALN Combining ecodesign and user benefits, a win-win situation. Submitted for publication in Jrnl for Cleaner Production, special issue on eco-design 2004.