Human Dynamos
This almost certainly isn’t the ultimate solution to our country’s energy problems, but using exercise bikes to generate some of the electricity you need to power the rest of your gym certainly is clever. And it tends, I think, to illustrate the point that human ingenuity is our greatest natural resource. Given adequate incentive to find ways of doing what we want to do in more efficient, greener ways we’ll figure out a lot of stuff — not a single technological breakthrough that solves all problems, but a dozen major advances and 12,000 minor ones like the human dynamo.
Already, I think, you’ve seen a tremendous flowering of innovative green ideas. But the trouble is that at the moment the incentives exist primarily as a means of doing marketing to a niche market of upscale consumers. That’s nice, and it’s produced some clever notions, but what’s really needed is smart policies that drive incentives in a bigger and broader manner.
51 Responses to “Human Dynamos”
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August 25th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
A niche market now, but don’t upper class tastes shape mass tastes pretty strongly?
August 25th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Human dynamos generating electricity that will charge up an electric car is a hell of a lot less efficient than, well, a human riding a bicycle, of course.
Some – most – of those 12000 little things Matt suggests are the many things we used to do without eternal energy that we now require energy for, and we’d do well to remember them.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Human dynamos generating electricity that will charge up an electric car is a hell of a lot less efficient than, well, a human riding a bicycle, of course.
Good point! But what if we can harness the incredible power of hamsters on exercise wheels!!!
August 25th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
If I recall correctly, it takes over a million calories to equal 1 KWh, and of course not all the calories you burn can be saved. The kind of exercise bikes that don’t require electricity also don’t get nearly as much use as those in gyms. Anyhow, more yuppie fantasies.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Human dynamos generating electricity that will charge up an electric car is a hell of a lot less efficient than, well, a human riding a bicycle, of course.
Good thing you are the only one bringing it up. I salute your ability to create an argument you can easily refute.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
“eternal”? sheesh! “external”, I meant. Hey, it’s 5AM where I’m at.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
It’s a good intentioned idea, but after Peak Oil and the subsequent rise in the cost of food, we’re not going to be fat enough to need exercise bikes.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Peejay wrote:
Human dynamos generating electricity that will charge up an electric car is a hell of a lot less efficient than, well, a human riding a bicycle, of course.
You’re missing the point that if you’re going to be using an exercise bike anyway, it might as well be producing some green electricity. That’s not a bad idea.
If you count up all the exercise bikes that are used across the country, it adds up to be part of a total solution to our energy problem that will (if our energy problems are solved in the best possible way) include a whole lot of ingredients, including using less plastic shopping bags, more public transportation/pedestrianism/bike riding, greener vehicles, more efficient light bulbs and household appliances, solar energy collectors, home vegetable gardens, nuclear energy, skylights, improved wind power, hydroelectric power, homes designed to capture and conserve heat better, and so on.
Of course, if we’re going to be realistic and admit that this little bit contributes to a total solution to our problem, we should also be seriously talking about banning vehicles like the Hummer.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I knew a guy who would drive his Hummer three blocks to go work out. He’d drive home with the towel draped over his shoulder, that he might mop up any sweat before it stained his upholstery.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Jeffrey Davis wrote:
It’s a good intentioned idea, but after Peak Oil and the subsequent rise in the cost of food, we’re not going to be fat enough to need exercise bikes.
No matter how good our diets become, the inclusion of some exercise will always make us healthier (and extend the length of our lives) and there is no reason to think that a lot of people won’t continue to prefer to exercise indoors instead of walking, running or biking outside.
Also, some people will always need to be in shape enough to run fast, like soldiers and cops, so these bikes will always be useful for them.
Rembuncle wrote:
I salute your ability to create an argument you can easily refute.
I’d actually like to hear how you refute it, not that I know the answer to that question one way or the other myself.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
There’s a health club in Hong Kong that is using these things to power its lighting.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Yeah, that’s the ticket. Scarf down 4000 calories a day, drive the Hummer over to the gym, and generate a little green electricity.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
There’s a health club in Hong Kong that is using these things to power its lighting.
So in the future, this might help make health clubs continue to be economically viable (which will be important since the overall standard of living will probably become poorer and less individuals will be able to personally own exercise equipment). This will enable people to continue using all the other equipment in the health club.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
The real problem is the relatively small percentage of the population that actually exercises (never mind exercises using a stationary bicycle). The future is in harassing the energy expend in more popular activities like dancing and even walking.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
If you count up all the exercise bikes that are used across the country…you’d wonder whether we as a species were meant to survive. You want to get healthy and be green? Do the following two things: cancel your gym membership; sell your car. You’ll save money, too.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I’m not sure how to legislate or encourage this, but one thing we could really use are visible meters in homes so people can see usage of electricity, water, etc. all the time and get a running amount of what they use and spend. This would encourgae reduced use, awareness, and would help people identify things that run even when everything is “off.” Saving then becomes like a challenge or a game.
I understand that during a price spike in Alaska when some transmission lines were down due to a storm or accident, people bragged about how much they saved.
I think visibility is part of the reason people obsess over getting the best price on gas — the price is so visible.
This is a simple step that would bring awareness across the board.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Using human power to partly power the gym is a ridiculous idea. Gyms with their air conditioning, bright lights, blaring music and TVs are energy hogs.
Why not exercise for a greater purpose? People can walk or bike for transportation or even use some muscle doing volunteer work?
More anti-gym thoughts here.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
No, actually it’s 860 kilo-calories, i.e. 860 Calories (note the caps), which is what people normally refer to when discussing calories. For instance, an average person consumes around 2,500 Calories per day, or 2,500,000 calories.
You could sweat out 860 Calories in an hour of squash without too much difficulty, though it would be impossible to recover all of it for useful purposes.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
To think we need “smart policies” to provide incentives for this sort of technology completely ignores the massive natural incentives already in place to develop viable green products and services.
But even if you did want a policy, the smartest you could do is simply to give cash no strings attached to bright people who are wont to tinker.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Howler from the article:
Argh, you’d think a (presumably) university-trained journalist would have to encounter at least one physics elective in the course of his studies…
August 25th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Interesting to see so many gym haters. Fact is, working out intelligently is a huge benefit in terms of results/time invested. I would say it’s at least a factor of 2. Sure you can workout at home or wherever, but it would be difficult to get the same quality of workout.
Plenty of people don’t exercise at all and just walking around would be a big upgrade for them. But that hardly calls for an attack on the people using gyms to stay in great shape. I don’t think anyone claimed it was particularly green, but an improvement is still an improvement.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
The human body is only about 10 % efficient in transforming food to mechanical energy, however. It’s really more like 9000 kcal/kWh when you factor in the generator’s efficiency.
August 25th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I think a lot of popular cardio machines already generate their own internal power for their displays, CPU, etc. so you don’t have to plug them into the wall.
That said, it’s a little silly even worrying very much about electrical appliances as a major contributor to humanity’s carbon footprint, since what they consume is miniscule compared to the big two, HVAC and transportation.
And it’s also silly to act as if everyone in America can just get adequate exercise by walking or biking to work; to make that happen, you’ve got to first put in place the incentives to have major changes in land use and more walkable/bikeable communities. That’s a good thing to do that needs to be done, but in the meantime, just browbeating people for their lack of individual virtue won’t get us there. I got my workout on my daily commute when I was living in Boulder, and it was great, but I don’t live there now and I go to the gym.
August 25th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Let’s consider
with:
From that I draw the conclusion that the central point is to solve our transportation problem, such that most people can get their exercise from walking or biking to where they need to go, not to make them feel better and greener about their wasteful fitness center experiences. For much the same reason that cars are these bubbles that make you separate from the communities you live in (and the attendant damage to it you are doing by driving), gyms are the bubbles you inhabit to prevent you from being aware of how unhealthy most built communities are for their inhabitants.
August 25th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I’ve always thought that urban areas should jam a bunch of these treadmills into abandoned buildings and have homeless people walk/run on them, and earn a little coin while generating a little electricity.
Such was, after all, the origin of the treadmill — a device used in reform-minded prisons in England (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treadmill#Origins). It’s pretty hilarious that hundreds of thousands of us now *pay* people for the privilege of running on these devices first invented to reform/punish criminals.
August 25th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
MPowell, I am a gym hater. I do believe that gyms are a waste of money and a waste of energy that could be better spent otherwise. Additionally, their shower facilities are also a fertile breeding ground for athletes foot bacteria.
That said, given only two choices (playing video games/watching TV vs getting in shape via a gym), clearly getting in shape is the better option.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
& this is how the world of The Matrix began…….
August 26th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Awesome. Now those brainless, waifish Boca moms can actually be useful!
August 26th, 2008 at 1:02 am
This is just a guess, but as an energy-generating system I suspect this would result in a net loss of energy, given that the amount of energy that will be required to forge the metal, make the plastic, stamp out the molds, assemble them, and ship them to the end consumer would never be made up by said end customer’s exercise-related activity. But I could be wrong.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:53 am
S.P. – Well, you’re welcome to your opinion, I suppose. There’s a difference, though, between saying, “it’s not for me” and “you’re stupid for doing it”. I’m very interested in the benefits that result from regular, brief, intense exercise. As for the showers, I would never use them.
August 26th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Hasn’t anyone here seen “Soylent Green”? That’s what’s being proposed as a MODEL for our society now?
Sure, if you’re going to cycle in place ANYWAY, why not generate some electricity while you’re at it, but the footprint from setting up such a system would almost certainly outweigh the benefit.
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March 25th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Everyone here is arguing if this is a good solution. All this is, is a tool to try and green things up.
Think, Xbox and Tv’s and Computers and Junk food and sodas all of your kids are doing and eating and all the not exerciseing they are doing. Make it a requirement ride the bike for power…. Or NO XBOX!!
Most people who go to the gym are there to look cool look around and maybe talk on the phone oh yeah and half ass it in their workouts. I am at the gym all the time and the majority of the people who are working hard are on the bikes treadmills, stairsteps, and elipticals. No one really lifts the weights seriously ( compared to the real gym rats )
These are a great idea. Now price is everything of course, so I am not saying I would run to get one but imagine all these working dog breeds out there in the suburbs barking in the yard becease the owner doesn’t understand why they are so disobediant. These working breeds need like 12-14 hours of work a day, everyday.. Imagine dogs running on treadmills that kept you lights on.. Piss on solar panels,I love dogs, and they love to run! Everyone wonders why there dogs always bark dig holes pee on the carpet and anything else they think is a problem with the animal. Not the animal the owner. Everything is relative so 10,000 dogs on wallstreet obviously a no go but think small your kitchen lights, or maybe your T.V.
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