[Homestead] Shaking the grid

rayzentz at aim.com rayzentz at aim.com
Sun Feb 21 00:33:48 EST 2010


What if you gear that bike up, when on the generator?


Dr. Raymond Zentz
 
It is better to die a free man, than to live, a slave.



-----Original Message-----
From: Clansgian at wmconnect.com
To: homestead at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Sat, Feb 20, 2010 9:24 pm
Subject: Re: [Homestead] Shaking the grid


I
> >Don, do you have any idea how one might be able to hook up a stationary 
 bicycle to an ??? alternator???? and then to a battery to help charge them 
 while exercising?
This is going to fall into the 'no free lunch' category.  How much exertion 
re you going to have to expend to generate one kilowatt hour of 
lectricity?
If you weigh 150 lbs and can run a mile in 8 minutes, you will burn about 
28 kilocalroies of energy doing so ... about what's in one slice of bread.
One kilowatt of electricity is 860 kilocalories.  If you could convert your 
uscular activity directly into electricity with no loss (100% efficiency), 
you would be doing the work equivalent of running six and three quarters 
iles in a little less than an hour.
But alas, you're body is not 100% efficient, nor is your bicycle, 
enerator, nor batteries.  A optimistic estimation of the cumulative 
nefficiencies 
ould put your kilocalorie of food conversion into electricity at 50%.
This means to charge your home electrical system with one kilowatt hour of 
lectricity, you will do the work equivalent of running (running, not 
alking or jogging) more than thirteen miles in two hours.  And that's if you 
eigh 150 lbs and are unbelievably fit.
In practical terms, if you wanted to run one fluorescent shop light fixture 
80 watts) for one hour, you have work out on that bicycle the equivalent 
f running that 8 minute mile.  (factoring in my above 50% efficiency in the 
ystem).  
And if you are on the grid, you will have saved a little more than half a 
ent.
James
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