Alternative Energy Forums

Hi everyone, I would like some advice about buying a human-powered generator. (This is a small-scale question!) I have been working hard to make my house more energy efficient; for example I have a nice solar panel system that produces well. For my own personal exercise needs, I have been thinking about getting a new treadmill - I had one but it died - and then I started wondering if I couldn’t maybe get a piece of home exercise equipment that could double as a generator. I don’t really want a build-it-yourself kit (just not my thing). I find a few on the internet, like the Weza (a one-foot treadle system) and one you can set your road bike in. The Weza looks sort of cool but it’s hard to imagine a one-foot treadle as a good home exercise workout. Still, if it’s the best engineered of the lot, maybe I should get one? Can anyone give me some guidance here? I want it to be affordable, sturdy, readily useful for producing a bit of electricity to power up some stuff at home, and usable for modest daily work-outs. Thank you!

lila17

Have you seen the foot powered generator from freeplay?

Here is a bicycle trainer/generator that attaches to your existing bike:
http://www.econvergence.net/electro.htm

JGL