Can Keeping Fit Power Your Home?
@owlwings (43910)
Cambridge, England
November 11, 2015 3:55am CST
Many people in developing countries are either without electricity or have electricity for only two or three hours a day.
This designer has come up with a very simple machine which he claims can power a home for 24 hours with just an hour's workout. The advantage is that it is would be relatively cheap to build and a version of it could be made by anyone with basic engineering skills out of old cycle and car parts (though the model that is shown in the video would doubtless be more efficient).
What do you think about working out to power your lighting, laptop, phone and radio - maybe even your TV? I don't think that you could run your aircon or electric cooker this way!
Access to electrical power is the first step toward economic advancement for billions of people living in poverty. Free Electric can light their homes and sh...
23 people like this
27 responses
He suggested it!
@djgarner86 (289)
• Exeter, England
11 Nov 15
It is an interesting concept. I think it should be used in 1st world countries also - think about how many running machines or gyms there are that we could "hook up" to magnets and generate free, clean electricity?
3 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Nov 15
I am thinking, too, of all those pavements where people throng. If they could be harnessed so that people walking over a suitable pressure-sensitive pavement generated a small amount of electrical energy, what a difference it might make to the street lighting bills, for example.
2 people like this
@djgarner86 (289)
• Exeter, England
11 Nov 15
@owlwings That is a good idea as well - or how about a fan / turbine installed on top of all the cars to generate electricity? I think we need to start an inventions discussion!
2 people like this
@kevinakash (2084)
• Sri Lanka
11 Nov 15
this is very interesting. i think it is very valuable for those who still don't have electricity.
3 people like this
@Rationalwriter (1813)
• Lucknow, India
11 Nov 15
This way, my house will never run out of electricity if crisis comes!! LOL
3 people like this
@venkataraman_vc (5293)
• Chennai, India
12 Nov 15
Wow..
I like the idea.
In my country, there is free electricity for the poor and there is some subsidy for lower middle-class people. But as I am just above the said categories my electricity bills sometimes hit the roof. I have been thinking of finding some alternatives, but most of them have a big installation cost.
If the design you mentioned could be so simple, I would love to use it. However, working out at the same time while using computers or reading, can be little distracting.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Nov 15
I think that the idea incorporates a battery so that you'd do your stint on the exercise bike before you could switch on the computer or the light!
It would, indeed, not be difficult to build your own machine from a bicycle, an alternator and maybe a flywheel from a car, several car batteries and a bit of ingenuity. In fact, I have seen and ridden on one myself which was made from a bicycle whose back wheel drove an old washing machine motor as a generator. It wasn't as efficient as the one shown in the video but it did generate enough to power a light bulb for a short while.
@venkataraman_vc (5293)
• Chennai, India
13 Nov 15
During hot summer we have frequent power failures in our area. At those times, we used to have a handmade fan (made of palm leaf). And I used to think "why can't we have a mechanical fan operated by pedalling?". I wondered why manufacturers thought of it. (Of course because it may not require servicing and they won't have repeat customers.)
This idea of charging the batteries also sounds good. After all we can't pedal a fan when we want to sleep.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
15 Nov 15
There's plenty of sun, of course, in tropical countries but what about backwoods Canada or, maybe, Antarctica?
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
11 Nov 15
this is actually something I had thrown in the book I was writing, exercise bikes to power some small things on an island! I think the idea is amazing, and makes me wonder if I could supplement what we use here, anything to lower a bill!
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Nov 15
I would think that the power that could be generated by such a machine would make a minimal impact on the energy companies here. It would be extremely valuable, however, in many parts of the world which have no electricity or only enjoy a few hours a day because it would allow them to have light at night and to use phones, computers, radios and many other small appliances to which they don't currently have access.
I would actually see it of value for large energy providers to fund an enterprise to supply these machines to third world countries because it would be good PR and would increase their image of 'greenness'.
4 people like this
@HebrewGreekStudies (1646)
• Canada
13 Nov 15
We have solar and wind power, and it saves us about 400$ a month on our electric bill-we have experimented a bit with a bike but...there is something, a little misleading about some of the statements there, the statement "could be made by anyone with basic engineering skills", basic engineering skills is are actually not very common...and what happens with a lot of people is they try, get frustraited, and give up. The reality is it can work...but, it needs to be viewed in a little more lucid terms.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
13 Nov 15
I think that, as a way of keeping fit, it might be redundant, since most places where one would need to use it are also places where people are pretty active all day. I guess that if you were holed up in an Arctic blizzard, then the 'keeping fit' bit would come into its own!
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
19 Nov 15
Actually, pedal power can be used for many things besides generating electricity. The flour mill sound interesting and I could see it being used for wood turning (in a more efficient way than a pole-lathe, perhaps) and a number of other crafts.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Nov 15
That occurred to me too but family support for the elderly is better on the whole in third world countries. I don't really see this sort of device being a hit in places where electricity is already readily available. The machine apparently claims to produce about 1500W of electricity in an hour. Very useful for someone where the electricity supply is intermittent or non-existent, because it would supply light for the evening and power a computer and charge a phone or two.
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
14 Nov 15
I suspect my energy output from the exercise I do might power a fridge light for about thirty seconds
1 person likes this
@cmoneyspinner (9219)
• Austin, Texas
20 Nov 15
Working out to power my laptop, etc.? NOPE! I want convenient access to electricity. Just flip a switch or push a button.
1 person likes this
@dorianna (509)
• United States
25 Nov 15
I like exercise but tend to get lazy at home. When I belonged to a gym I would work out regularly. Though I have weights at home, other than my lengthy walks with the dog, I tend to let things get in the way at home.
If my power depended on my exercise, it would be a good motivator not to put off the workout. I like the idea.
1 person likes this
