This ‘welectricity’ can then be used to recharge your mobile phone. Orange, Official Communications Partner for the Glastonbury Festival, will be showcasing the Orange Power Wellies prototype onsite.
Twelve hours of stomping through the Glastonbury Festival in your Orange Power Wellies will give you enough power to charge a mobile phone for one hour. To increase the length of time you can charge your phone for, simply hot step it to the dance tent because the hotter your feet get, the more energy you produce.
How it works. After a full day’s festival frolics you can plug your phone into the power output at the top of the welly and use the energy that has been generated throughout the day to charge your phone. The power collected in the ‘power generating sole’ is collected via a process known as the ‘Seebeck’ effect.
Inside the power generating sole there are thermoelectric modules constructed of pairs of p-type and n-type semiconductor materials forming a thermocouple. These thermocouples are connected electrically, forming an array of multiple thermocouples (thermopile). They are then sandwiched between two thin ceramic wafers. When the heat from the foot is applied on the top side of the ceramic wafer and cold is applied on the opposite side, from the cold of the ground, electricity is generated.
Dave Pain, managing director at GotWind said: “GotWind are excited to be working with Orange for a fourth year to create an invaluable charging prototype for festival goers. Wellies are now the staple festival footwear, the Orange Power Wellies not only keep you dry but they also provide a crucial eco electricity source.”
Andrew Pearcey, head of sponsorship at Orange UK said: “Orange remain loyal to the green ethos of the Glastonbury Festival and are committed to researching exciting new energy sources that can be used on site to ensure people can stay in touch with their nearest and dearest. The Orange Power Wellies use clean and renewable energy to create valuable electricity ensuring festival goers can text and phone their mates for the duration of the weekend.”
The Orange Power Wellies are the latest innovation in the company’s bid to find alternative sustainable and eco-friendly mobile phone charging technologies that can be used at the Glastonbury Festival. Previous projects have included the Recharge Pod powered by wind and solar energy, Dance Charger that drew upon kinetic energy created by dancing and the Orange Power Pump which uses the energy created from a traditional foot pump and converts it into electricity.
The Orange Chill n Charge area will be onsite for the duration of the festival with more charging points than ever, exciting new interactive elements and will also feature a soundtrack of stripped back acoustic performances.