Merry-Go-Rounds Convert Play Into Power

In rural Ghana students are often forced to learn in buildings that are dark, poorly equipped, and generally disconnected from the country’s infrastructure. Now a playful invention, designed by non-profit Empower Engineering, is bring electricity to those in need.

Created by Ben Markham, a former VP of Engineering at ExxonMobil, Empower Engineering (EE) has built a merry-go-round that harnesses the abundant energy of children at play. Using the rotating motion of children playing on the merry-go-round, EE’s equipment converts play into electricity that can be distributed to both classrooms and portable lamps.

"The concept that kids have infinite energy at their disposal is nice, but not true," said Markham. "But they do have energy that can be harnessed. As an engineer, what I wanted to know is if you can make a real amount of electricity from kids playing."

According to EE research, a healthy 8-12 year old child can generate somewhere in the neighborhood of 150W of energy per hour while they play. While that doesn’t sound like a ton of energy, it’s actually more than enough to power portable lamps that can help illuminate the long nights in Ghana.

Since Ghana lies so near the equator there’s very little variation in the length of days. Nearly all year long the country experiences 12 hours of day light before it’s plunged into 12 hours of darkness.  That’s where EE’s portable lamps come in.

After having been charged all day by the activity on the playground, portable lamps are distributed to students where they can be used to continue their studies, and help illuminate their homes.

Beyond being extremely helpful EE’s system is also affordable. The total cost to install an EE system is $10,000. That single system can provide 200 kids with electricity for 5 years, not to mention the incalculable value of improved education.

Images Courtesy of Fast Co Design