#850 Exercise Power

A while ago I made a humorous suggestion to solve part of the energy shortage. Personal Power.
Anyone who knows power knows that power is produced with potential. That is, by harnessing the difference in potential states between rest and motion.
Water spins a turbine. The turbine produces electricity. Gasoline in your car engine explodes and pushes a piston, which pushes a crankshaft, which eventually turns your wheels. A treadle can power a sewing machine with enough pedaling and a bicycle can power a little bicycle light with a simple attachment.
Why then, I joked, couldn’t you harness all the stationary bikes, rowing machines, elliptical trainers, and treadmills in a health club to return power to the grid? Or at the very least supply the power needs of the health club.
Finally, a way to keep the hot tub hot.
Well, once again, reality has caught up with my humor—sort of.
Seems that a company called Dissigno has created a prototype system in Haiti that charges 12-volt batteries with a pedaling system. Using a simple alternator, six hours of pedaling can effectively light six homes for six days.
Farmers can now stay up later after the harvest and have light to see their poverty by.
Now granted, the average home of a Haitian harvester is smaller than a health club. But health clubs have a hell of a lot more pedal power to harvest.
And really, it just makes sense. Here you have all these folks sweating out the effort anyhow. Why not exploit them in some way?
It couldn’t be that hard to design a treadmill whose potential increased with each level of resistance. Hit the button on the console for incline and not only will the treadmill get harder to tread, the power output increases. Set that stationary bike for an uphill grade and you have the same effect—harder pedaling, higher power.
So here’s my challenge to fitness clubs. With so many out there, one of you should do this to get a leg up on the competition. The totally green 24-hour anytime fitness center.
Who needs a power drink?
Belong to a power club.
America, ya gotta love it.