SMART SOLAR STREET FURNITURE

Budapest startup Platio has been developing a series of intelligent solar street furniture and pedestrian solar panels that are capable of powering personal smart devices or be returned back to the grid.

In a recent pop-up project in Budapest, Hungary, the company collaborated with educational platform Hello Wood, to supply a local square with solar panel furnished benches so visitors can now charge their smart devices while relaxing in the space.

The panels were integrated and installed in curved public benches where the electricity produced by these benches can be used to charge mobile devices plugged into USB ports on the furniture, or wirelessly with Qi-compatible smartphones and tablets.

Platio has also been hard at work developing intelligent, modular paving panels that can harvest solar energy to produce electric power. These pedestrian strips are comprised of photovoltaic-paving units which feature a veneer of high strength, anti-slip glass, and are manufactured using recycled plastic waste.

Platio’s maiden pedestrian system has recently been installed in front of a harbour-front shopping mall, as well as integrated into public seating in Astana, Kazakhstan. The PV-paving units cover a total of 80-square-meters and are rated for a 11.7-kilowatt power output. The electricity created reduces the shopping complex’s need for fossil fuel powered energy systems, minimising the complex’s carbon footprint.