Footwear with Small Hydroelectric Generator

We already know how hydropower can be utilized to generate electricity. For a large scale hydropower project, a dam and huge devices like turbine and hydroelectric generator are needed. Hydropower works by flowing water from the dam so that the strength of the water flow will rotate the turbine and generator to produce electricity.

There are also small hydroelectric project where a dam is not needed, because a natural river stream is used. The hydroelectric generator that used is in smaller size too. Obviously, the amount of electricity produced is less than the large scale hydropower, but it is already more than enough as a power supply for a small resident.

Small hydroelectric generator in footwear

Hydropower is now portable. In this case, the river stream is not even needed. It was Robert Komarechka from Ontario, Canada, that comes up with the idea to put a small hydroelectric generator to the shoes soles. This invention has been patented since 2001.

This image is courtesy of
US Patent & Trademark Office

According to its patent, there are five major parts in Komarechka’s hydroelectric footwear:
1. Fluid – we can say that this conductive fluid acts as the ‘river stream’
2. Sacs – used to hold the fluid, imagine this as the ‘dam’
3. Conduits – connect each sac to the microgenerator
4. Tiny Turbine – this tiny turbine will rotate as the fluid moves forth and back in the soles
5. Microgenerator – this little hydroelectric generator is located in the middle of the conduits, and used to generate the electricity.

Can you imagine the way it works now? Yeah, as your foot lands on the ground, the fluid will flow backwards to your heel. When you’re about to take the next step, your foot will rest on the fingers and the fluid will flow forward. This fluid flow will pass the turbine and causing it to rotates, so the small hydroelectric generator can generates the electricity.

The generated electricity is enough to power any portable gadgets, so basically this hydroelectric footwear is like a portable charger that utilizes the hydropower energy. What a great invention, Komarechka!

Hydroelectric footwear as the portable hydropower

Can you imagine if a marathon runner wears this hydroelectric footwear? How much power will they generate as they are running fastly? How many gadgets can be powered with that amount of power? It must be very convenient to have a small hydroelectric generator in your shoes.

We all know that the number of small scale hydropower project is increasing. Most of the user is civilian that doesn’t know much about the hydropower side effect, making this to less efficient, because there will be more natural river ecosystem that will be disturbed. Let’s hope the further development of this hydroelectric footwear can save the natural river ecosystem.