I need someone to explain elctricity to me.

[vclark321]

I am new to all of this, but is it or would it be possible to hook up a stationary bike to a bayyery that powers a heater. I am not looking for more than a couple of hours to run the heater, but I want it ti be power I can generate & get my workout in at the same time. I will try the library too for more information. Thank you!

 

[ScottSD]

I am new to all of this, but is it or would it be possible to hook up a stationary bike to a bayyery that powers a heater. I am not looking for more than a couple of hours to run the heater, but I want it ti be power I can generate & get my workout in at the same time. I will try the library too for more information. Thank you!

It is possible, but not sure how much "heat" you're talking about. Enough to heat a house?

That is unlikely.

I don't have a lot of time to go into it now, but ohms law is still ohms law and you can't change it.

 

[valmom]

Hmm. I'd bet sunsaver or someone else could jury rig up something that would use human power on a bike to re-charge batteries. There are some pretty handy people on here. How hard could it be?

 

[k0xxx]

I am new to all of this, but is it or would it be possible to hook up a stationary bike to a bayyery that powers a heater. I am not looking for more than a couple of hours to run the heater, but I want it ti be power I can generate & get my workout in at the same time. I will try the library too for more information. Thank you!

I hate to be a wet blanket, but if you're talking about even a room size heater, this isn't going to work. You may be able to generate something like 100 watts constant, or maybe even 300 - 400 peak, if you are in great physical shape. Most room size heaters are in the 1000w - 1500w range. Even with the 12v car size heaters, it would be tough to power them for anything other than a few minutes of heavy peddling. You also run into the problem with the fact that as the wattage production of a generator increases, the force needed to turn the generator increases. You would be much better off just wearing warm clothes, and removing some as you warm up. Sorry.

 

[dacjohns]

All the pedaling will keep you warm without the heater.

 

[savingdogs]

All the pedaling will keep you warm without the heater.

That is what I was thinking!

I have told Hubby for years we need bikes that produces electricity as we sit at our computers.

Sunsaver are you reading out there????????
*SD hears echoing sound

We need you!

 

[k0xxx]

I located an online Mother Earth News article, about powering a generator with an exercise bike, titled Make Electricity While You Exercise .

To Quote the article:

One hour of pedaling produces about 100 watt-hours. Thats about enough energy to power:

* A clock radio for 10 hours
* A 15-watt compact fluorescent light bulb for 6 hours, 40 minutes
* A laptop computer for 2 hours
* A 19-inch LCD TV for 1 hour, 40 minutes
* A toaster for 7 1/2 minutes
* An iron for 3 1/2 to 6 minutes

 

[vclark321]

I really appreciate everyone who has contributed. Thank you!

I am not talking about heating the whole house toasty warm. I keep the housse at 60 degrees normally in the winter. Menopause will do that to you! LOL! But what about storing they generated energy in a battery and then using an inverter to power the oil heater on the occasional day it gets below 60 degrees? And I am only talking about 1 rroom in the house, not the whole thing. Just a thought to use less electric power to help with costs. Any thoughts on this? RV's & 5th wheels use an inverter for power from batteries. Thanks everyone! My fireplace has a coil which somehow is supposed to heat the house, but is putting out soot through the vents. Only way a chimney company can fix it is by tearing out the whole wall and starting from scratch. Only about $6,000! I am starting to think about a RMS in the basement since it is concrete & can support the weight.

 

[k0xxx]

I really appreciate everyone who has contributed. Thank you!

I am not talking about heating the whole house toasty warm. I keep the housse at 60 degrees normally in the winter. Menopause will do that to you! LOL! But what about storing they generated energy in a battery and then using an inverter to power the oil heater on the occasional day it gets below 60 degrees? And I am only talking about 1 rroom in the house, not the whole thing. Just a thought to use less electric power to help with costs. Any thoughts on this? RV's & 5th wheels use an inverter for power from batteries. Thanks everyone! My fireplace has a coil which somehow is supposed to heat the house, but is putting out soot through the vents. Only way a chimney company can fix it is by tearing out the whole wall and starting from scratch. Only about $6,000! I am starting to think about a RMS in the basement since it is concrete & can support the weight.

It's probably doable, however there are a lot of variables to consider. 1. The power consumption of the heater fan. 2. The duty cycle of the heater fan (The percentage of time that the fan is actually running). 3. The type, amp hour rating, and number of batteries, 4. The power generated (charging rate) and the length of charge. 5. And to a lessor degree, the efficiency of the inverter (inverters waste a percentage of power in the process). There are other considerations, but these are the important ones. I can see a lot of peddling time involved.

The last item to consider would be a cost/benefit analysis. If it's just the fan on an oil heater that needs to be ran (I am complete unfamiliar with oil heaters types), then you are probably not going to save a lot of money since fans are inexpensive to operate. When you add up the cost of the generator (unless you have a source for a used one), the cost of the inverter, and the cost of the battery/batteries, and any parts or equipment needed to rig it all up, then you may be in the hole financially.

Again, I don't want it to seem that I am trying to discourage you from investigating this option, but I only want to point out that it is not as simple as it seems on the surface. It sound like it may be a fun experiment, and quite beneficial health wise.

 

[vclark321]

Thank you for the wonderful information. It really does help. I would have to be Lance Armstrong on crack to power anything large! I am not THAT motivated. If I ride 5 days a week all year long at a moderately intense pace I am under the impression the energy from that could be stored in the form of battery for future use. I am thinking I may be over simplifying this, but any any company I try to ask questions of always start in with the sales pitch.

Here in the Pacific Northwest I don't see a whole lot of solar panels, but I do drive by 1 newer house that the roof is covered with them & they have a wind turbine too. If I could use rain to generate power.... Anyway, thank you for all of your help. I do appreciate your patience and advice. I will ponder this and maybe start something. And no worries about discouraging me. I will find the answers I seek. I can appreciate the voice of reason. Thank you again!