Isn’t electricity amazing? Just imagine how different life would be if you couldn’t switch on the lights to read before going to bed. How would you charge your electronic devices? Could you survive without a computer and television?
If you can’t envision a life without electricity, then you might struggle if we suddenly lost electrical power. Can you picture reading by the light of a candle? What about cooking all your food over an open fire?
Although electricity is great, the process of generating the power we need has a negative impact on the Earth. For instance, mining enough coal to fuel power plants requires vast natural resources, and the pollution and by-products of electricity generation processes affect many people.
That’s why numerous scientists are actively searching for alternative methods of generating power using renewable resources like water and wind. When you think about hydroelectric dams and windmills that produce electricity, you realize that it is the movement of these natural resources that is crucial.
As water and wind move turbines, they create mechanical energy. This mechanical energy can then be converted into electricity by a generator. Scientists seeking other alternative energy sources naturally look for other renewable resources that are in motion.
Wait, YOU are in motion! Could you be a source of alternative energy? Some scientists believe so, and some have even invented new machines to harness the power of humans to generate their own electricity.
For instance, an organization called Billions in Change has developed a “Free Electric” stationary bike that they claim can convert one hour of human pedaling into a day’s worth of electricity. As a person pedals, the wheels of the bike drive a flywheel.
The flywheel, in turn, drives a generator. The generator charges a battery that can store enough electricity for an entire day with just one hour of human pedaling. The creators of the bike believe it is a cost-effective solution to provide electricity, especially in areas without access to electricity.
Although this may seem like a novel idea, people have actually been attaching generators to exercise equipment for many decades. Some of the earliest adopters were gym owners who retrofitted exercise equipment with generators to help offset the cost of the gym’s electricity bill. Some schools have even installed stationary bikes with generators in classrooms, allowing students to exercise, read, and generate power all at once!
However, the concept of converting human exercise into electricity has not yet become a mainstream source of alternative energy, especially in modern areas already connected to the electric grid. On average, commercial electricity in the United States costs around 10 cents per kilowatt-hour.
A person exercising on a stationary bike for one hour might generate 100-200 watts of power during that time. If an exercise machine was used for five hours every day for an entire year, it would probably generate less than $20 worth of electricity.
Considering the costs of retrofitting exercise equipment with generators, it could take many years to justify the expense. Hopefully, technology will continue to advance in the future, enabling exercise equipment to generate larger amounts of power at more affordable rates, making humans a viable alternative source of electric power!
Give It a Try
Now is the time to produce some electrical power! Take a moment to explore the following activities with a companion:
- Picture this: riding a bicycle, reading a book, and generating electricity – all at the same time! Is it possible? Absolutely! Visit The World’s First Green Read and Ride Program online to discover how one school is assisting students in getting their exercise while reading…all while producing electricity for the school’s use!
- Consider the amount of electricity you use each day. Actually, try to keep track of all the activities you engage in that require electricity. Using a journal, write down all the ways you use electricity throughout a typical day, from the lights in your house to the power that operates the television. At the end of the day, share your list with a companion. Can they think of any examples you overlooked?
- In addition to generating electricity through physical activity, you can also contribute to power conservation by using less energy. Using your list of ways you use electricity, review it and assess where you can reduce energy consumption. Look around your house for any wasted energy. Do you leave the lights on all the time? Is the television playing when no one is watching it? Is the heating or air conditioning on when the windows are open? Come up with a list of at least five things you can do to decrease your daily energy usage.
Sources of Wonder
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3462885/The-electricity-generator-pedal-Free-Electric-bike-create-24-hours-electricity-just-hour-exercise.html (accessed 13 Mar., 2023)
- http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/conservation/these-exercise-machines-turn-your-sweat-into-electricity (accessed 13 Mar., 2023)
- http://www.livestrong.com/article/418932-exercise-machines-that-power-your-home/ (accessed 13 Mar., 2023)
Leave a Reply