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This page provides documentation of the electricity-generating module of a pedal power station that does two things: (i) spins a washing machine tub to extract water from hand-washed clothes (ii) generates electricity.
The 2-minute video here shows moving pictures of both modules at work. Documentation of the laundry spinning module is on a separate page.
Neither the laundry spinning nor the pedal-powered electricity projects are meant as 'proof of concept' demonstrations for educational purposes. Rather, they reflect a regular routine of living that I've found works out pretty well for me.
DIY Power Station: Electrical Parts and Sources
Diode (in this case a 25A, 50V Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier)
as of January 2008 available from RadioShack for
$3.29
Ultra Capacitor (BPAK0058-E015-B1)
as of January 2008 available from Tecate Group for
$185.00
Battery (marine deep cycle)
as of January 2008 available from BatteriesPlus for
$59.99
Watt Meter (WattsUp)
as of January 2008 available from
PowerWerx for
$59.95
DC motor (E200 Razor scooter motor)
as of January 2008 available from RazoRama for
$35.95
Considerations for Pedal-Powered Electricity:
a Pessimist's View
- Pedaling a machine to generate a power output of 100 Watts continuously for an hour is a tough workout, even for people who consider themselves fit.
- A modern, energy-efficient, family-sized refrigerator will use at least 365 kW per year.
- Pedaling an hour every day at 100 Watts for a year (an insanely optimistic goal) would yield 36.5 kW, or only 10 percent of the electricity required to run a refrigerator.
- Pedaling an indoor stationary unit indoors for an hour (without using electricity to run a fan, or power a TV) can be excruciatingly unpleasant, because sweat will pour off your body in rivulets, and you will experience unimaginable, mind-numbing boredom.
- Turning pedals to generate electricity as a regular part of your daily routine may earn you no end of derision and scorn, even from people who know and love you.
Considerations for Pedal-Powered Electricity:
an Optimist's View
- Routine generation of electricity through your own physical effort will reflexively result in 'pedaling hours' as your mental metric for evaluating electricity usage, and that will translate into greater mindfulness, hence reduction in electricity use.
- A routine physical workout has health benefits independent of the amount of electricty generated.
- Peace of mind results from knowing that in a power outage, you will still have the ability to power small household electronic devices like a laptop computer, a cell phone charger, a radio, a TV, etc. that will lessen the impact of such an outage.