People-Powered Checkouts: a European First for Sainsbury's

The first European supermarket-based people-powered checkouts that work on a vehicle energy transfer mechanism system have been launched by British retail group Sainsbury’s. 

The people-powered checkouts are one component of a new highly environmentally friendly Sainsbury’s supermarket which consumers will be able to use from June 17th onwards.

The checkouts at this store will be linked up to so-called “kinetic plates” positioned in the Gloucester site’s car park, the idea being that cars driving over them will create energy, which will be fed into the store’s checkout network. 

These plates – the product of Highway Energy Systems designer Peter Hughes – have an anticipated capacity of 30 Kilowatts-hours (KW-h).  They also have no direct effect on vehicle performance, or increase on car exhaust emissions of CO2 or other greenhouse gases.  What’s more, it has been reported that drivers passing over them do not experience the bumpy sensation associated with road humps.

Environmentally Friendly Shopping

“This is revolutionary”, environment manager for Sainsbury’s, Alison Austin commented.

“Not only are we the first to use such cutting-edge technology with our shoppers, but customers can now play a very active role in helping make their local shop greener, without extra effort or cost”, she continued, describing how consumers were now getting an environmentally friendly shopping experience.

“We want to continue offering great value but we also want to make the weekly shop sustainable. Using amazing technology like this helps us reduce our use of carbon and makes Sainsbury's a leading energy-efficient business.”

Kinetic Energy Production Road Plates

The kinetic energy production road plates are just one facet of a whole host of new environmental technologies implemented at this new Sainsbury’s store.  The building itself incorporates photovoltaic panels which, in the summer months, will produce sufficient power to provide hot water for the entire store.  There is also a rainwater collection system in place, water collected through which will be used when the store’s toilets are flushed. 

According to Sainsbury’s, by June 2011, this collection system will have collected a volume of water equivalent to that found in a Olympic swimming pool.

"The new environmental features within the Gloucester Quays store mark a very exciting time in store development”, Sainsbury’s store development manager, David Sheehan, stated.

“We are able to use cutting-edge technology to improve our services and the store environment for our customers and colleagues, at the same time as ultimately reducing our carbon footprint across the UK.”

Image provided by and copyright of Sainsbury's PLC