[neocone]

Was never ever able to find such a thing.

Imagine how much fit people would be (at least the motivated crowd like me).

Also rowing is more efficient than bicycling... more power can be leveraged from hands and legs and it is a complete sport, besides it being more ergonomic.

If gyms would retrofit to have generators they could power themselves too...

[Bas]

that would be a very good idea! Free gyms for everyone!!

[JRP3]

I'm working on making a stationary bike with an alternator hooked up to it. You could do the same with a used rowing machine.

[ohanian]

An ordinary human can generate 200 watts

A good human can generate 400 watts.

If your name is "Lance Armstrong" then you can generate 800 watts.



As for me,
I shall buy my kilo watts from the power line.
I have no time for sub kilowatts.

[neocone]

400 watts is 2 solar panels at more than 1k each...

Also reliable. If you want a fuel cell with a built in carbohydrates to hydrogen reformer at 25% efficiency... look in the mirror!!!

I know about all those bicycles... but when I see those rowing machines at the gym that waste the energy in those fans, why not hook up an electric engine rotor on that thing instead and generate some power!!!

Bicycling is a dull sport... only legs are trained and the maximum torque that can be done is limited by legs. Not by legs/arms/torso...

Rowing is also a complete exercise, like swimming and cross country skiing!

Say a gym has 100 people at any one time on average and 24/7... you're talking about 40 kw of power!

At 10 cents per kw.hr (anticipated costs of electricity this year on average, and I am conservative!!!) you have $56 of electricity savings per day and close to $400 per week...

At least the gym can power itself, and feed back the excess into the grid.

[ohanian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('neocone', '
')
Say a gym has 100 people at any one time on average and 24/7... you're talking about 40 kw of power!

At 10 cents per kw.hr (anticipated costs of electricity this year on average, and I am conservative!!!) you have $56 of electricity savings per day and close to $400 per week...

[neocone]

Makes sense to power your computer at home through a rowing machine...

What I am talking about here is a Pavlov type conditioning where reward to browse online would come at the cost of exercise...

Gyms could pioneer this, but as a distributed energy generation device at home this is perfect.

Now there will always be 90% of the population refusing to do any exercise... but 10% being somewhat fit will be a huge number in itself.

[bhowle]

I can see it!

A rowing machine sort of based on a Free Play radio.

Oars are used to crank up giant springs that turn a generator.

Springs could generate electricity on demand from stored energy or to charge batteries. Energy on demand may be the better option.

Off to ebay to check out rowing machines.

-bob

[jlpicard2]

Maybe this might be useful. Perhaps it could even be modified for the rowing machine, or it can be used for stationary bicycling power. http://www.windstreampower.com/humanpower/hpgmk3.html

[neocone]

Yeah I saw it once... only product out there and a joke pretty much.

I want a rowing machine because of the way it would be a complete exercise and how much more power could be leveraged.

http://www.sitincomfort.com/rowingmachines.html

Just have a generator instead of a fan wasting the energy into aerodynamic drag and we're set... alas impossible to find an actual product doing that!!!

[nth]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('neocone', 'S')ay a gym has 100 people at any one time on average and 24/7... you're talking about 40 kw of power!

At 10 cents per kw.hr (anticipated costs of electricity this year on average, and I am conservative!!!) you have $56 of electricity savings per day and close to $400 per week...

At least the gym can power itself, and feed back the excess into the grid.

[SolarDave]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nth', '.').. of course, this makes no sense from a EROIE stand point.

[Narz]

I love this forum!

So what human activity can generate the most usable electricity do you guys figure?

[Bas]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')eing alive makes no sense from an EROEI stand point.

[dooberheim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', '
')So what human activity can generate the most usable electricity do you guys figure?

[dooberheim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', '
')So what human activity can generate the most usable electricity do you guys figure?

[rek]

Some of you might find this interesting. It's not power-related, but during the Cold War, bicycle-powered ventilator kits were supplied to fallout shelters.

Half way down this page: http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/shelsupp.html

BTW: one useful thing about pedal-powered generators and the like, is that at an appropriate intensity, you can keep at it for hours upon hours. No can do with rowing! If we need a high specific power yet ultimately unsustainable form of energy, there's already a very good one that's delivered by the litre at petrol stations

[gg3]

An old friend & I were speculating along these lines last week. Interesting convergence.

Since rowing ties up the arms & hands as well as the legs & feet, the place you'd want a rowing machine is where a person's sole task is to provide power for an application, for example industrial or agricultural, or charging household batteries.

Otherwise, for any application that requires a person use their hands, what you want is pedal power only ( e.g. powering a laptop computer or desk reading lights, or charging household batteries while doing something else such as reading or cooking).

Neocone, why do you say that the windstreampower.com device is "a joke"? Please be specific; calling something "a joke" is not a reasoned critique.

I can see plenty of room for improvement in pedal-power devices, and I have a few designs up my sleeve that I'd like to build if I had access to a proper workshop. A unit with integrated seat that is able to be used at a desk, is an obvious one. There are a few others that are not so obvious.

[MD]

The most efficient human powered generator that is easily available today would be a stationary bike with arm-levers sequenced so that maximum output from each limb occurs at ninety-degree increments.

As for the rowing machine: no one mentioned flywheels. They would help with the intermittent input problem, but you would lose the ability to change pace. In order to solve that you would need a variable flywheel.

Let's just say that the efficiencies quickly spiral downward with this approach to the point where all practicality is lost.

A partially recumbent bicycle design would be my choice for all around comfort and utility. The power output may not be optimal, but I'd be much more likely to ride it for extended periods.

I figure I'm good for 3-4 kwh per week. That's 10-15 hours labor to generate $.50 worth of electricity.

When I lose access to the grid, I'll be right on that chore . . . until then, plug me in, baby!

[grabby]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ohanian', 'A')n ordinary human can generate 200 watts

A good human can generate 400 watts.

If your name is "Lance Armstrong" then you can generate 800 watts.



As for me,
I shall buy my kilo watts from the power line.
I have no time for sub kilowatts.