How to lose weight, stay in shape and save on home energy bills.

How many of you have seen these "wind up" flashlights and radios lately? You know, they have a little handle on them and when they get low on power you just wind them up some and recharge them.

We need to design one of these systems that is big enough to power a home, yet affordable enough for the average homeowner to buy. They can be incorporated into construction of new homes (and businesses, for that matter! Employee fitness plan!)

The idea is to hook up a couple of exercise bikes to the power generator, which will require family members to exercise to recharge their homes. This would cut out the need for energy companies like ENRON, FP&L, TVA, etc.. basically shutting down these big corporations. YAY for us! Plus, you get exercise and keep in shape... This plan could also incorporate solar panels in it for heating and lighting purposes.

Ok.. so maybe it's a whacky idea.. maybe it's not. If any of you act on this and get rich from it, you OWE ME BIG TIME!!! :rofl:

Now I gotta holler at the kids to go charge my system... computer is fading fast! :evilgrin:

and for that matter, strength-training machines, couldn't harness power to run a generator.

It's not an original idea, but I've never seen it implemented in a product available to the general public.

BTW, it won't work on a treadmill--those need a motor to drive them. But eliptical trainers, bikes, rowing machines, and x-country ski machines, shouldn't be any problem at all.

It's just a thought that struck me last night as I was winding up a flashlight..

I don't see why it wouldn't work though, except for cost of getting started..

that's why it's in the garage attic. Motorized are soooo much easier.

Our normal power production in terms of our bodies is about 100 watts. Even when we're at high output, you're talking maybe 250 watts, and very few people can sustain that for even an hour. Figure in inefficiency in collection, and you're talking about a pretty low number of watt-hours. That's a small drop in the bucket when you consider the power requirements of most homes. You might be able to power a lighting fixture, or a small appliance like a coffee maker, but you'd have to have dozens of people per household doing this in order to make any significant dent. Besides which, most exercise machines aren't designed in a way that would let energy be easily harvested.

I think, though, that my Nordic-track ski machine--which has this flywheel which, once it gets going, would supply a pretty nice chunk of wattage, and it'd be nice to be able to charge batteries with it.

I'm thinking it would be a good thing to have in an emergency, and maybe have some other dedicated-use item hooked up to it (like, say, outdoor lights?)

just why a gym hasn't tried to use it. Even if it's pennies saved, pennies become nickels, nickels become dimes . . .

Look at all the shit that worked on Star Trek that eventually worked in reality, I'd like just one thing from Gilligan's Island to work.

the bikes and ellipticals power the individual TVs on each machine (or at least contribute to powering them)

In the larger cities, there can be as many as 50 to 100 exercycles going at once. Think of the power that can be generated from those during peak hours.

that a completely green health club might work.
All machines would contribute to the generation of power for the facilities.

Cheers
Drifter

used a kind of bamboo exercycle to power his inventions. So, it's an old idea.

Peddle harder Gilligan! Survivor is about to come on!

Do you think the Castaways would watch LOST or Castaway?

They'd watch a self help show about how to build a boat and get off an island, the host of that show would somehow wind up on the island from his own accident, he's help them build their escape boat, and when the time came to leave, he's leave on the boat, but Gilligan's incompetence would keep everyone else on the island.

http://www.motherearthliving.com/issues/motherearthliving/alternative_energy/Bicycle-Energy_335-1.html


You might have noticed the new Sunday evening program on HGTV, titled Living with Ed. The show stars Ed Begley, Jr., actor and passionate environmentalist, whose home in Studio City, Calif. is a model of renewable energy production, recycling and sustainable living.

Begley explained how he produces energy with a bicycle each morning to make his breakfast toast. Just 10 minutes of pedaling generates enough power, stored in the batteries for his solar power system, to run the toaster.

To learn more about how to use a bicycle to make your own home power, read Cycle Power Part I: How to Build a Working Stationary Bicycle, Cycle Power Part II: How to Use a Stationary Bicycle to Generate Electricity or Cycle Power Part III: How to Use a Stationary Bicycle to Power Your Workshop from the Mother Earth News archive.

Begley is certainly not the only person who’s using pedal power in their homes. Mother Earth News contributor, John Gulland, for example, has posted an excellent Web page about the pedal-powered generator he built. Gulland’s article about pedal power is scheduled for late 2007 in Mother Earth News.

Edited to add image:

I'd never seen or heard of it until now though. I don't watch TV much at all.

He also either bikes or drives his electric car wherever he goes. "Living with Ed" is no longer in production, but here's the "Environmental" area of Begley's website:

http://www.edbegley.com/environment/

This is from an industry newsletter I get in email:

Additionally, HGTV will air two early previews of Living with Ed, the eco-friendly series surrounding the lifestyle of actor and environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. and his wife on August 26 and September 2 at 10p. Both of these sneak previews also follow HGTV Design Star. Living with Ed will officially premiere in its normal time slot on August 27 at 1030p.

That's a chiroquacktor's wet dream right there. He needs to raise those handlebars about a foot. There's no steering, shifting or braking on a stationary bike, so they're just something to hold onto.

and you wouldn't have enough time.. what with average 60hr week now. Better to invest in solar power and switch to an alt. hot water heater (expensive, but really neat)... there are already ways to make your house energy efficient... if only people had taken those low interest equity loans and made those home improvements, instead of buying a new gas guzzler or a boat...

society today. Everything comes too easily. Need milk? Go to the store! Need water? Turn on a faucet! Need light? Flip a switch! Need dinner? Drive thru McDonald's of KFC! Need heat? Turn up the thermostat!

We've become lazy and complacent. How many of you think you could survive today having to tote your own water into the house from a well or chop firewood for cooking, heating, bathing, etc? How about milking a cow or killing a hog, chicken or something else for dinner?

I could live like Grizzly Adams, and be quite comfortable with it...

my little piece of heaven!

Maybe one of these days I can get my husband to agree to go live in VT... there's family land up there.. not mine yet... inheritance at some point in the future.

I think that's the way it works at my gym. I just joined this gym so I can't say for sure but you have to work the machine awhile before the TV can start on the individual walking and stair stepping machines.



Cher

Then all the displays light up like when Scotty flips a switch on Star Trek. So, at least the machine powers itself.

I could see pedal generators realistically charging up batteries for radios that you could listen to all day. Pedal at 60 Watts X 1 hour will run a radio for 20 hours @ 1 Watt. Assume 2/3 of the energy is lost in conversion.

Now, somebody gave me a 2 year old TV that consumes 110 Watts. My PC burns about 80 Watts. Forget about those unless you get some kind of super-efficient design of notebook computer.

All this might a good backup for a cloudy day.

--wish I could remember who it is--who has the entire workplace outfitted like this. This person acknowledges that we're not made to sit in an office--that the human body needs activity--and has constructed the workplace around it.

If I remember correctly, the PCs and other electricity-driven machines are powered by the people using them.

Saw this on some TV show. It was not a small-scale operation, either.



Cher

How would it be if all the members working out powered the whole gym??

It was either at a school playground or park, but the idea was to use all that childhood energy to make electricity. I don't remember how successful it was, but do recall being impressed by the idea...hey, whatever works!

have to depend on ourselves for our own needs. I'd like to be ready...

the idea it to install a merry-go-round at a park, and when the kids push it around (as they will) use the power to pump water. it's worked ok in a couple of places.

http://www.ordertree.com/cms/Freecharge+Weza+Portable+Energy+Source/170.html


I have a flashlight, lantern and radio from them. Nothing like walking across the park listening to Thom Hartmann on my wind-up radio.

haven't gotten the radio or TV yet..

I was the only one in my neighborhood not looking for batteries.

:thumbsup:

Giant Hamster - The *other* white meat! :rofl:

:D

LOL! I like the .gif! Looks more like someone trying to outrun the rat race though!

:thumbsup:

a human hamster wheel I could find - have to imagine how much that suit will stink after a few miles...EEWwwwwww.

:rofl:

:evilgrin:

But, yes, I have driven one. I dated a guy in college who had one and we took it to Daytona from Tennessee. It made it there and back - with FIVE people in it - believe it or not! :)

in a '74 chevy vega when I got out of school.. ALL of us over 6 feet tall, too!!

I'm lucky to see the upside of 5'2". :)

(or "Make Room! Make Room! as the novel was known)...and quite a few other SF novels?

I'm good at predicting the past though....

does a fit person doing 1-2 hours of aerobic activity at full capacity generate, relative to a typical household's energy consumption? :shrug:

But it seems if you had a SO and a couple of kids it would take some load off of you. Of course, if you live alone, you dont use as much power either.

Lance Armstrong could put out about 500w for 20 minutes, at his peak: http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11857&sidebar=725&category=tdf2005_index

I would imagine that considering the fitness of Lance Armstrong, that's pretty much the practical maximum for any human being.

To keep this simple, lets assume the home uses 720KWh (kilowatt-hours) per month. (I seem to remember that was about average in Canada.. one of those silly facts that stuck in my head and I cant get rid of.. anyway).

Since Energy = Power x Time... and there are also 720 hours in a 30 day month.. we can assume for argument sake our "Household Hamster Wheel" would need to produce and store a days energy use - 24KWh or 1KW of energy every hour. (on average)

Of course since we dont want to spend all day on our wheel, it would be best if we could exercise for 1 hour and generate the days energy needs.

Then the question becomes, can a human generate 24KW in 1 hour ?



As you can see the best of cyclists generate about .8hp (horsepower) or about 600watts (1hp = apprx 746 watts)

Likewise, if this uber-cyclists could maintain a crank RPM of 150 for 1 hour, he/she would only generate approx .6KW
Even if they could maintain that pace for a full 24 hrs, they would only generate 14.4KW. 9.6KW shy of the daily 24KW target.

Anyway...these are all just averages and ball park figures.. .but I wanted to look it up after reading all the post on this thread and this is what I determined.

Hope that helps...

MZr7

Go buy a bicycle light that runs off a generator that rubs your tire. Use it. Done.

It takes a TREMENDOUS amount of human energy to power just one 100w bulb.

the energy. It only works when it's moving. Find some way to store the energy created and the light would work longer.

The radio club I saw was putting on a "field day" event, meaning no mains power allowed. (it's essentially a disaster drill wrapped around a "fun" event) The club hooked a dynamo up to the back wheel of a bike, and generated enough power (along with some PV cells) to run their rig, with volunteers pedaling in shifts around the clock.

And yeah, it was pretty cool.

now we just need to find a way to mass produce a unit that will power a home...

I wish I had the know-how to build one myself, but barring a sudden influx of electrical and mechanical knowledge, I think about buying something like this:

http://www.windstreampower.com/humanpower/ppg.html

I ride all the time outside in warm-weather months, but I could substitute every other session for one indoors on the generator. In the winter, I could do it daily and probably generate enough for my pellet stove, stereo, and reading lamp. Plus, with something like this, there's always emergency power in case of outage.

The idea exists. And I have also thought about it, thirty years ago.

I dare anyone who isn't an avid biker to push 300 Watts for an hour.

My use is 800 Watts every hour of every day. That's due to hot water heating and refrigerator and water pump.

Sorry, we're using way more energy than we should be allowed to use.

maybe we DO need to cut down on our energy consumption.

You may miss this post in this thread. But I just wanted to say how interesting it was that I should be way out in a forest and find this implement of hunting used a long time ago. And how appropriate as well. Some native walking along looking for dinner.

I think after looking at the links below, I was not too far off in my energy generation figure. And as cyclist, I find it so revealing to see and watch the ultra high energy use going on around me as I pedal. And now you see, 300 Watts is all we can even attempt to achieve, and yet it's not even remotely enough to do what we take for granted in our daily modern lives.

This should be very revealing. It means we're living beyond all our means.

but I have to settle for the lake down the road.. where I am fixing to take the kids... i dont think people would like seeing me nekkid though..

Seems to have quite a bit of info as well as info on direct pedal powered devices.

Pedal powered washing machine?



http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen.html

edited to remove unnecessary word

but individual items, powered only when needed, would work too.

But was only able to generate enough electricity for breakfast toast. i think the technology is not really there yet--if it was, Ed would be pedaling to power his house. As it is, he uses solar power.

I'd probably only be able to power a little led light. :)

The Professor tried this, but it didn't work out all that well on Gilligan's Island.

There was an episode of Candid Camera way back in the original power crisis. It featured different generators for all the office appliances. (Actually it was a guy with a switch to the phone, typewriter, etc.)

There have also been at least one engineer who got tired of his kids laying around and put a bicycle generator on the TV set. And then there is my friend who built his bicycle generator years ago. Spends all week charging the batteries so he can watch a little TV over the weekend.

We get rid of all guns but make knives readily available, and everyone is required to carry one. That way, when mugged, you have two options: fight or flight. Either way gets you in shape, and the first method culls the weaker members of society from the herd, making us a nation of ubermensch.

TlalocW

I always loved that use of "foot" or other power for everything... But, then again, why was Fred so overweight? LOL

Are you kidding? Did you see the *size* of those pteradactyl wings? The Brontosaurus Burgers? What about the ribs that flipped the car over at the beginning of each show? :rofl:

:hi:

WOWZER! :rofl:



I loved that show--still do. ;)

My question is, how little would you have to pay people to pedal four hours a day in order to compete with other energy sources?

on edit: I did the math myself. It looks like four hours on the bike would generate 0.8 kwh, and at current prices coal costs 1.3 cents per kwh. So you'd be getting 1.04 cents for your pedalling.

I like the idea though.

and you can turn your lights off while you're out.

:rofl:

The energy comes from the carbohydrates you eat (like biodiesel), and you exhale co2.

The problem is that people can't produce that much energy to offset the amount we consume.

To put it in perspective, a gallon of gas which cost $3 has enough energy to push a 3000 lb car about 30 miles. Now imagine pushing the 3000 lb car yourself for 30 miles.