Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: 60 Minutes on this bicycle can power your home for 24 hours [View all]exboyfil
(17,862 posts)I would love a rower version for my home, but I have my doubts.
I consume about 1200 kilocalories in 2 hours. Lets say 70% energy conversion. That is 1000 Wh.
This is about 1/10th of my home requirements (I don't have a bill in front of me).
Could I power my house during my rowing time sans air conditioning?
Interesting is a scene from Soylent Green where Charlton Heston uses a stationary bicycle to generate power to run a small television. When I have been at Science Museums I can generate enough energy to keep the light going for a while.
Maybe a rower version would be a nice science project for the future.
On edit:
We used 17 kWh/day last month (somewhat more than what I estimated). So I would need to produce 708 Watts/hour. That would be tough rowing, and of course I could not do it for 24 hours.
1000 Wh (1kWh) is about $0.12 (less in my area).
Finances definitely not a reason to do it. Consider how much more I eat to fuel my rowing.
It is possible to do it on a 1 to 1 basis. A team of elite rowers did it. So if you have 30-40 superathletes living in your home then it is doable.
http://phys.org/news/2012-07-world-rowers-electricity-power-house.html