In a move that appeals to “Smart City” sensibilities, the concept of smart utility poles may be a complementary platform available to the public as early as the summer of 2017. Imagined and engineered by Totem, an upstart company with a focus on renewable energy, these smart utility poles (of the same name as the company) are looking to be the next “groundbreaking” platform for modern companies and communities.
Totem is essentially a 21st century utility pole, and the world’s first energy solution utility pole. In it, the platform combines solar energy and energy storage, WiFi and 4G communications, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and smart lighting, which all directly connect to the built environment to challenge the traditional role of the power grid.
In other words, Totem is a new and inventive take on providing clean, sustainable energy to cities. Powered by a five-kilowatt solar array, a built-in 44 kWh Li-ion battery bank combines with the array to provide a source of backup power. (Engineering.com).
With this type of onboard energy generation and storage, the smart utility poles’ foundation is self-sustaining and capable of maintaining critical services in the event of an emergency. It also keeps the wireless communication network up and running during power outages, allowing all communications powered by Totem to continue to operate in the event of a grid failure. And because Totem is tied to the grid, it can also feed electricity back to it.
The company is looking to usher in an age of new mass transportation fleets, as well. With the popularity of EVs and autonomous vehicles, Totem believes there is a demand to supply cities with more flexible energy solutions to support new means of transportation.
Right now, the company is appealing to city streets, campuses, and parking lots (mostly anywhere you would typically find a streetlight) as viable mediums for the smart utility poles. Totem believes their ability to distribute energy generation will help their target areas “grow smart, clean-energy communities with reliable electrical and communication networks.”
Brian Lakamp, CEO and founder of Totem, is confident that smart utility poles will help bring energy infrastructure (such as transformers, power lines, etc.) “out of the shadows” and into much more functional roles directly related to the well-being of their cities.
The Totem platform, in an effort to totally transform the way energy infrastructure interacts with the built world around it, also offers additional power generation during a city’s peak demand times. This opens up devices, such as computers, mobiles devices, electric cars and more, to the very real potential of benefitting from additional solar capacity.
Currently, the company is in the middle of negotiating with several different cities and corporations that might implement their smart utility poles, but the first site of installation has still yet to be announced.
Leave a Reply