Sustainable urban solutions

E-Round is a traffic roundabout capable of converting 3 natural sources into electricity: wind, solar, and rain.
Thanks to these conversions, it is able to produce and accumulate electricity for street lighting. Furthermore, part of the accumulated energy is used to light up a cycle track and to power the irrigation pumps along the planters. The conversion of sunlight into electricity takes place thanks to the photovoltaic panels present on one of the rings of the E-Round.

They must be installed facing south and with an inclination of 30° (in Italy). The conversion of the movement of air into mechanical energy takes place thanks to a vertical axis wind turbine. An innovative blade with a much lower startup speed than other blades on the market will be used within the project.

How does it work?

E-Round uses rainwater as a coolant to start a thermoelectric process. But let’s analyze the rings through which this conversion takes place:

-The first layer consists of a transparent ring, which has the function of protecting the underlying rings from cold rain, but allowing sunlight to pass through undisturbed. The rain will slide down the disposer without touching the black ring.

-The second layer consists of the black ring, which has the task of heating up by assimilating both sunlight and ambient temperature.

-The Peltier cells (used through the Seebeck effect) are positioned between the black ring and the heat sink and convert the thermal decompensation into electrical energy.

Their connection in series or in parallel allows the achievement of the desired power. Furthermore, rainwater is accumulated inside a tank under the roundabout and allows the irrigation of the plants at night. The pumps will always be powered thanks to the energy produced by the E-Round. The mechanical energy comes from the millimetric collision of cars with special artificial bumps along the road, called energy bumps. The energy bumps will be positioned as real bumps, making a much less drastic impact than those used as slow motion. Every time a car hits an energy bump, a series of magnets translate vertically in as many copper coils, generating an alternating current. The energy produced will be used to power the lights inside the roundabout. Thanks to its multiple production potential, the E-Round adapts to any weather condition. The energy input from the various sources will be intelligently managed by a special electronic circuit.