Since at least the 1970’s folks have been working on ways to turn pedal-power into electrical power. I was thinking that they’ve probably worked out a tidy plan or other tidy option by now and it looks like they have. “They” being tinkerers. Yes, it’s still a tinkerer’s field, it looks like. Although, I should check out Real Goods site for a truly streamlined high-end unit.
I’d think that such generators could also be powered by an XC skiing, rowing or paddling machine.
I’ve read about spinning classes at gym’s being hooked up to use their power: cool.
Then there are the pedal-powered smoothie blenders.
In my survey of the current scene it still seems like a basic understanding of electricity is needed. The crazy thing is that a basic knowledge is also mostly what you need to do pretty fancy electric projects. A lot of what you run into in electro boils down to some basic equations and simple math. …*IF* you can keep it all straight.
Like, Dave Butcher — a main pedal-power dude from the 1970’s — says it’s most efficient to directly and mechanically drive whatever it is you’re trying to power. Next he says, “The second most efficient way to use the power is to pedal a generator to electrically power your device directly, with no battery. The least efficient way to use your power is to generate electricity and store it in a battery, then extract it from the battery to power some device.” I had thought that using a battery, even better, an inverter, would be the way to go. But Dave says inverters lose a lot of your energy. We’ll see. I’ll dig into this more. Still, it’s hard to go against science. Isn’t it.
Here’s a little list of sites to glean for a start:
*Free Plans or Parts or Complete Unit: www.pedalpowergenerator.com/index.html
*Dave Butcher’s flywheel, improved since the 1970’s: www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen.html
*FAQ from Science Class coordinator who does a lot of PP projects: scienceshareware.com/bicycle-generator-faq.htm
*A guy who worked up a tidy unit: www.mattshaver.com/bikegen
