Comments on: Exercise and Electricity Generation

By: Luke Woodberry

Luke Woodberry — Sun, 01 May 2011 20:20:34 +0000

there has to be a way but if my understanding is correct 46 watts comes only close to lighting a bulb. I guess you’ll need to keep rowing

By: jason crowther

jason crowther — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:24:25 +0000

is it poosible to generate enough electricity too establish a viable income. i have used a rowing ergometer for some years now. i recenly generated over 46.000 watts in a 40-minute session using a cyclone 2 rowing ergometer. since there are 8 watts/vote, that's almost 6,000 volts, yes? so much for the energy problems. if i could establish a reliable income.....

By: jason crowther

jason crowther — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:33:43 +0000

i attended a fitness center in traverse city. they had a couple of CYCLONE 2 rowing ergometers. my workouts on one were up to 30 minutes and beyond; my longest useage was 40 minutes. the LCD monitor readouts varied–of course–as the duration of the workouts increased. eventually, i’d generate 45,000 watts after 40 minutes. using the information gleaned here, i’d say these totals deserve to be recognized as significant. my question is this: might that energy be converted to electricity and sold to a local provider to add to a local grid? after reading some of the anove articles, it would appear others have had similar notions.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:40:10 +0000

Recently, I have purchased an energy meter made by Blue Planet and have been fascinated by how much energy is consumed by certain electronics and in their various states (i.e. off, standby, on - suspend, idle, full, peak).

Although the numbers shown in the image at the top vary depending on energy rating (my alarm clock runs at 5W, my LCD TV at 46W (my first generation HD TV CRT -- yes, they do (did) exist -- runs at about 255W and 47W in standby/off! - needless to say, it is plugged into a power bar and turned off and is only on 1/2 hr per week), I'm of the opinion that saving energy is easier than either producing more. If possible, I would like to produce energy through working out as it seems a great waste of energy in so many ways.

I would encourage everyone to purchase one of these devices. They pay for themselves, sometimes in the first month!

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:51:45 +0000

Yes! America has vast untapped reserves of human FAT. All of that fat could be transformed into electricity as calories burned. Currently working on the design of a few new exercise machines to generate power in my garage in my free time. If I reached my goal 1kw+ machine what should I do next? I am not a businessman. How do I use my design to benefit humans and the proliferation of the human potential? I would like to see people building these things in their garage and getting connected to the grid. But also would be awesome to see a full on gym with my machines in it. making power.

By: British Gas Energy Smart

British Gas Energy Smart — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:21:17 +0000

Well, someday we will eventually have to use all the techniques we can get to create energy so im not surprise. It would be kind of funny someone getting up and having to ride a bycicle for 5 minutes in order to prepare the breakfast.Hmmm, interesting, exercise before breakfast. Im sure for some people that have MacD. membership cards wouldn't be a problem. Anyway, I for one am up for this sort of technique. Exercise two hours and get energy for 12...that wouldn't be bad at all. At least if any sort of aliens would attck our planet we would be so fit they wouldn't stand a chance. Great post Laura, will definitly social bookmark it. Cheers

By: Darren

Darren — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:07:10 +0000

Where's Gilligan and the Professor when you need them? They've been doing this for years!

By: Steve Schebler

Steve Schebler — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:00:15 +0000

It's very possible for fitness centers to generate enough power to be self sufficient. With the onset of LED lighting, electronic ballast and induction lighting we are just around the corner from form of perpetual-motion. I would welcome any information in this derection

By: Kythin

Kythin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:54:18 +0000

Had this same idea after seeing a little wind up torch yesterday and like others above, am half glad that other people also see the potential. Like the OP I'd wager that most of the generated power would be lost in driving each device, but if you could build a suite of fitness machines and give away free/low cost fitness programs to patrons in return for onselling the electricity they generate I think it would be an extremely profitable business. Anyone in Brisbane Australia (or nearby) who wants to delve into this idea more should contact me ^_^

By: Art Pearce

Art Pearce — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:18:38 +0000

been thinking about this for a few years and glad to see others have as well (OSU gym; C2K program; The Green MicroGym). Merry-Go-Round idea in African village is terrific! Reverse metering has arrived, but technology problems of losing 90% of energy generated from bikes, treadmills, rowers, etc. still needs to be solved, mainly dissipation & uncaptured heat. I'm keeping an eye out and experimenting, though.