Pedal power generator pdf

By transmitting rotational motion to the device by means of belts and pulleys directly to run the devices. Pedal Power Generator 2. Through spinning rotors that in turn drive the generator that produces electricity. Above picture is about generating electricity using a stationary bike coupled to some sort of generator which in turn generates electricity.

This phenomenon can be understood in better way by studying the Human Power Generator. It is a system that harnesses a readily available source of renewable energy Human Power.

It is user friendly, portable and available whenever you have the need for it. The power output is directly proportional to the effort put into it, the Human Power Generator can be a valuable tool in teaching an appreciation of the power we tend to take for granted. The Human Power Generator is primarily designed to charge volt batteries, which can run dc lights and small appliances.

You can also run AC appliances with the Human Power Generator by using a dc-ac inverter connected to a battery. It is also possible to directly power certain dc appliances, such as water pumps, without using a storage battery. Naseem 5. Pedal Power Generator The amount of electrical power that can be generated by the Human Power Generator is determined by the energy available to turn the crank. The stronger the user, the more electrical power can be produced.

The Human Power Generator consists of a heavy steel frame holding a bicycle-like crank, with a step-up chain drive attached to a permanent magnet dc generator. Either foot pedals or cushioned hand cranks can be attached to the two crank arms. Electrical Connections:. Pedal Power Generator A cable with connectors on both ends is supplied to interconnect between the HPG and the device you are powering stock number To attach the connector to the HPG. Align the connector with the receptacle matching the keyways.

Insert the connector into the receptacle until it is fully inserted. Human power generator with rear view with power cable. Rear Connector To disconnect the cable, gently pull back on the gray sleeve until you can rotate it counterclockwise, then you can pull the connector straight out to remove the cable.

Connect the other end of the cable to the device you are powering up. Insert the connector as below. A typical setup for using your HPG might look like the photo at right. Please note the rug under both the HPG and the stool. The rug is a key element in preventing the HPG and stool from slipping apart. When moving the unit, please grasp the base of the unit.

Do not pick up by the chain guard. If the stool or chair is too low, the HPG may tip backwards during use as shown. If a fixed position of the HGP is desired, the four rubber feet can be removed from the bottom of the base and the HPG can be screwed to a surface using the screws and washers provided in the accessory kit.

You may want to use the HPG in the recumbent position. In this case, the HPG can be mounted on a vertical surface using the same screws and washers. The power output with hand cranks will be 30 to 50 watts due to the smaller muscle mass of the upper body. The terminal voltage of a fully charged battery will be between A battery should not be allowed to discharge below about 10 volts, as most volt appliances will malfunction or shut down if the battery voltage drops below that level.

To charge a battery, a dc power source of a higher voltage than the battery is connected to the battery, positive to positive and negative to negative. As long as the charging source is of higher voltage than the battery, current will flow into the battery until it is fully charged. In other words, if your battery is at If the voltage of the charging source is less than the battery voltage, no current will flow into the battery even though the charging source may be capable of supplying power.

The Human Power Generator will not deliver a charging current to a battery until it is turning fast enough to develop a voltage higher than that of the battery. Naseem 9. Pedal Power Generator Consequently, very little effort is required to start cranking or pedaling, but as soon as the generator voltage reaches the battery voltage, a considerably greater mechanical resistance is felt as energy begins to be transferred into the battery.

When the battery has been fully charged, it will no longer absorb electric current, so if a higher voltage continues to be applied the battery, it will heat up and possibly emit gas. This is referred to as "overcharging" the battery, and can damage the battery and its surroundings. When using the Human Power Generator, the effort required to turn the cranks or pedals decreases as the battery becomes fully charged.

At the same time a voltmeter would indicate a rising voltage, meaning that it is time to stop charging the battery before overcharging occurs. Battery Voltages: While the Human Power Generator is designed primarily to supply 12 volt circuits and to charge 12 volt batteries with typical float voltages of Due caution is required to avoid overcharging.

The typical "float" voltage for a 6 volt battery is between 6. Pedal Power Generator e. Measurement of Human Power: Pedal Power: While human beings vary widely in weight, strength and endurance, the typical maximum amount of power that a person can generate for short periods by pedaling is about watts. The average continuous power that can be generated sustainably by pedaling is about one-sixth of a horsepower, more or less, depending on the strength and weight of the person pedaling.

This is equal to the maximum current for which the Human Power Generator is rated, for intermittent duty. If human power is measured by pedaling from a recumbent position, it is primarily a strength and endurance measurement, whereas the subjects weight is a factor if pedaling is done by standing on the pedals.

Hand Crank Power: The maximum power typically available through hand cranking is about 50 watts, or about one fifteenth of a horsepower. Pedal Power Generator Applications: Emergency power generation and battery charging - land and marine.

Exercise systems that do useful work generating power while exercising. Measurement of human power and endurance. Remote or off-grid power for water pumps and small appliances. Independent radio or radiotelephone systems; emergency communications. Classroom projects and educational exhibits to demonstrate the amount of effort required to generate electrical power.

There are many other possibilities that we can think of for this device. The efficiency and variable speed of the output are two features that can be exploited.

Since it requires no fuel, and is not affected by time-of-day or weather, it would make an excellent Human-powered emergency generator, ready for any blackout. Here are some other devices that could be powered by the basic unit:. Pedal powered charging system for portable "Jump Start" systems. These devices feature lights, air compressors, battery chargers, power meters, 12 Volt DC outlets, and of course jumper cables.

Pedal powered biodiesel circulation pump or biodiesel transfer pump - direct drive, with no electricity and no battery. The Pedal Generator design is perfectly suited to circulate, agitate and then transfer a batch of biodiesel. Pedal powered whole-house ventilation fan 15 minutes in the evening to cool off an entire house. Pedal powered air compressor compressing air takes a LOT of power, and is not very efficient. This would work for small jobs only, like filling tires, staple guns, nail guns, caulking guns, small hand tools.

Pedal powered, sewing machine an ancient idea , hand tools grinder, disk sander, buffer, drill, reciprocating saw, lathe. Pedal powered Science Fair Project - anything from the efficiency of the unit, to the physiology of the rider can be studied. Human power generation is a vast subject with many possible areas of scientific exploration.

Basically, any device that was hand cranked, foot-powered, or powered by a. Pedal Power Generator Childrens play: When large numbers of children play in a playground, part of the power of their play could be usefully harnessed resulting in large energy storage.

This stored energy can then be converted for basic, low-power, applications in the school such as lighting, communication, or operating fans.

Energy can be produced through the use of pneumatic i. The energy of the compressed air can then be converted to electricity for purposes such as lighting and communication. This provides a low-cost, low-resource means of generation of electricity, especially for use in developing countries.

This is a diagram of a human powered airship. It is shaped like a Frisbee and so can be considered a lifting body. The weight of the vehicle, pilot, passenger and cargo is balanced by internal chambers. The net weight of the vehicle is countered by lift provided by two counter rotating 10 ft diameter propellers.

A mechanical transmission, shown in the diagram above, is used to reverse the direction of one of the propellers. Counter rotation cancels out residual spin and eliminates the need for a tail rotor, while providing angular momentum for stability.

An alternative method would be to drive each propeller with its own electric permanent magnet motor, each motor being wired in reverse polarity with respect to the other. The pilot would pedal an electric generator to supply electricity to the motors rather than pedal powering a chain driven transmission.

The counter rotating. Pedal Power Generator propellers are powered by a combination of human pedal power and an electric motor which is supplied with electricity. It is times stronger than steal, light as foam and theorized to be so stable that it is capable of self sealing when punctured; the pilot is surrounded by an exterior airbag, capable of cushioning collisions. The helium filled chambers are baffled in case of punctures. This vehicle would be capable of. However, most.

The design of this vehicle would also enable it to hover at any altitude within its altitude range. Steering is accomplished through banking and thrust vectoring via air vents along the side of the airship which direct air from the propellers.

The airship would be capable landing on water. While in shelter mode the guide lines could support a tent and the solar powered propellers could provide ventilation. If you are considering building a similar system, plan on using two batteries, and a simple switch which allows you to use one while charging the other. Flip this switch right before you begin charging to ensure that you are charging the battery with the lowest charge the one most recently used.

Also be sure to use a battery that is roughly equal to ten or twenty times your power output for a charging session. For example, if you crank out ten amps for an hour each time you charge, choose a amp hour battery. Larger batteries will simply loose charge through self- discharge faster, resulting is less efficiency for your system and more useless work for you.

The most efficient way to use the power you create is not to create electricity at all, but to power your pump, fan, hoist, winch, drill press, grinder, sewing machine, etc. The second most efficient way to use the power is to pedal a generator to electrically power your television, radio, floodlight, chain saw, laptop computer directly, with no battery.

Be careful about voltage, or use a good regulator. The least efficient way to use your power is to generate electricity and store it in a battery, then extract it from the battery to power some device. Avoid this method in favor of methods 1 and 2!! For more information, read this excellent writeup giving details on a different design based on a bicycle and rollers.

One, I was in great shape and probably was generating over one horsepower in the sprint. And three, the saw was a 12 volt saw, so it was designed to be efficient. The literature from the saw said that the motor was a permanent magnet Bosch electric winch motor, which was a good match for the maximum output of the pedal generator. It was great to see the chips fly! I finally have a small photovoltaic system up and running, generating 12 volt power though in very small amounts and providing me with a way to learn what I need to know before I expand to a large scale "off the grid" system.

I began the small solar lighting system to light one dark hallway and my garage. Of course, things have progressed from there. Solar electric systems are easily expanded, and I started with a very small system. I had plans to expand it over time. Here is the chronology: The project actually began in the 's when I begin building solar cell panels and teaching workshops on panel construction.

Among the many small solar panels I built was a 12 volt, 1 amp panel built with single crystal 3 inch silicon cells. The panel had never really been put into service, but through all my travels I kept it with me, and I finally decided to celebrate the new millennium by permanently installing it and finding something useful to do with the power it generated.

The first installation consisted of a Trace C12 charge controller, two very small 4 AH at 6 volt gell cell batteries and a white LED light of my own design. The light has 6 white LED's, arranged in two circuits, with a fan switch which gives bank A, bank B and both banks with successive pulls of the cord. The light tube is free to rotate, giving the light the ability to be directed through a degree arc.

The light is a prototype. I will construct a brighter version when the next set of LED's arrives. Here is a closeup of one end of the light to show the two-way pull switch. It's not a twin tube 40 watt fluorescent shop light by any stretch, but it is impressive how much light can be produced by running only half a watt through these little solid state lamps. I will create detailed plans if anyone is interested. I have added three more solar panels to the system.

Here are the details: 1. It is weatherproof, has it's own blocking diode, and it is now mounted fairly high up on the eaves. This panel only produces about 15v instead of the usual 18v 36 cells is typical , so it is more valuable when there is a load on the system or when the batteries are fairly low.

In July I built a redwood frame aluminum is sometimes referred to as "solid electricity" because of the amount of power i. Redwood is renewable. Everything went well, and I now have a 4 foot square panel. That is large enough to produce around watts! The panel lives on the roof of the garage, and I use the power it generates to recharge everything inside the house on "Sunday" every week.

Now the system is starting to really produce some power! In fact, I found that the combination of small panels kept the batteries charged all week, running the LED lights I had in the hallway and in the kitchen, and I had enough power with the big panel to run a solar powered drip coffee maker on the weekend! Even after making coffee, there was power to spare. I am now cleaning up the system and considering adding more lights in several places in the house.

I will be building more lights soon, and I will also create a diagram of the system to show how all the pieces fit together. I followed instructions from Home Power magazine, and built a battery desulfator circuit. This circuit pulses the batteries with high current, high frequency current which results in elimination of sulfate buildup. The circuit is small, and it looked easy to build. I have it working on an old 25AH Gell Cell battery that I bought new, never used, and is now severely sulfated.

Something is definitely happening, as the charge current on the battery is gradually increasing from almost nothing 3 ma. I'll post the results here, but it may take several weeks to determine whether the battery can be saved. The solar system has become a tangled mess of wires, inverters, alligator clips and cords. Today I will work on organization. I will present photographs later today showing how the different components fit together.

To make a presentation, I have been attaching the components to one foot square ceramic tiles. While this will take up more space on the wall, it will also enable the system to be cleanly organized and modular.

The time flies. I have had white LED's in our walk-in closet for almost a year. The system has worked like a dream. I have a small microswitch Radio Shack on the door, and the LED's turn on automatically when the door is opened. Elsewhere in the house, I have created more LED "strip lights. These LED lights are wired though the kitchen wall to the 12 volt power source in the garage. A simple pull-switch turns them off and on.

With these lights available, the watt track lights in the kitchen are seldom turned on. Another big win for solar energy! I have also created a 6 LED light fixture for the short hallway between our house and the garage. This simple fixture has two features. It is turned on by a microswitch, just like the closet lights, and it has several large capacitors about.

This allows me to walk out into the garage and then back after the door closes. The door closes automatically to comply with fire codes. These projects have enabled us to "kill" a number of v grid powered lights.

While the v lights are still available, the 12v solar LED lights are automatic, and they are almost always enough. Simple, easy, cheap, and hundreds of times less power-hungry than their v counterparts. Since the last entry, my wife and I bought a house. In the process of moving, every solar system had to be taken apart. Little by little, I have been putting them back together.

One of the systems I cannot live without is the under-counter lights in the kitchen. This time, as I built the system, I took some pictures of the process. I believe anyone could do what I did, and create similar lights. These lights are powered by rechargeable batteries, and the batteries are charged with solar electricity, so they are "off- grid.

When I did my ususal "finger test" to see if they were warm active , one was stone cold. Now I admit it was raining, and I did not expect much power to be generated, but the other one was noticeable warmer. I went inside and got my laptop computer, hooked it to the OK computer interface, and checked up on the inverters.

Sure enough, one was putting out 15 watts and the other was at zero. Interestingly, the one at zero said that it could not read the "plug" voltage: volts AC. After much fiddling, and switching wires around, and "rebooting" the inverter by unhooking it from both the volt AC line and the 24 volt DC solar panel, I was ready to give up. Then I rememberd one of the old tricks I had learned back when I repaired computers for a living.

I took a screwdriver, held onto the metal end, and whacked the inverter with the handle. Sometimes the low-tech solution is the best solution.

I have mailed NKF tech support for suggestions. It could be a cold solder joint, or some other problem. Whaterver is was, it is "fixed" for now. David "Photons, not Neutrons" Butcher Disclaimer This information is provided in good faith but no warranty can be made for its accuracy.

Follow these suggestions at your own risk! If you notice something incorrect or have any comments, or information to add to these pages, feel free to mail me. David Butcher davidbu"at"www.

Frequently posters on these two groups will inquire about generating electricity using a stationary bike coupled to some sort of generator. Most replies are to the effect that while it's possible to do this, the amount of power output by such a rig when pedaled by the average person wouldn't be worth the effort.

I wasn't convinced that this idea was a lost cause. I decided to build one and see how well it worked. Because bikes are made in a range of sizes to match their rider's stature I wanted to build the generator as an accessory which could be driven by any ordinary bicycle.

I used to work in a bicycle shop when I was 13 and remember seeing the owner, Mr. Hank, ride his track bike on a set of rollers. While I was looking through bike accessory catalogs for rollers that I could adapt to my purposes I came across another similar device called a training stand.

While rollers require a lot of skill to ride because there is nothing but the gyroscopic force of the spinning wheels and the rider's balance to hold you upright, a training stand clamps on the rear axle of the bike and keeps you vertical.

Originally the ball bearings were pressed into the bore of the roller at the outer ends. The roller assembly spun on a stationary axle fixed to the frame. The end of the roller, opposite the integral three pound flywheel, drove the hub of a centrifugal clutch. The shoes of the clutch engaged a stationary drum which provided resistance increasing with speed.

I had to make a new axle which is locked to the roller and move the bearings to machined aluminum plates outboard of the steel frame. The plates are made to a standard NEMA 42 size and provide the mounting surface for a permanent magnet DC motor that is driven as a generator through a flexible coupling. The other end of the axle exits from the bearing through an identical plate and is available for PTO use. You can see a black sprocket on that end of the axle in the pictures.

I also had to weld in a brace to stiffen up the frame to allow carrying the extra weight of the generator. I'm pleased with the result. Even under heavy load it runs cool and relatively friction free. The part of the frame that clamps to the rear axle of the bike pivots with respect to the ground so that the rider's entire weight forces the tire into contact with the roller reducing slippage to a minimum.

The black object under the front wheel is a contoured plastic block that levels the bike to avoid the feeling of riding downhill. See the tables below for a list of those tests and the results. In summary I think the most practical application of the bicycle powered generator would be battery charging. This application presents a constant load to the rider which allows them to select a single gear ratio which lets them pedal at their optimal cadence.

Another practical application is running small appliances and tools which use universal series wound motors or permanent magnet DC motors. All of the motorized items in the table below have universal series wound motors and would run on DC even though their nameplates all said " Volts AC Only". Induction type motors such as those found in washing machines and shaded pole motors which are used in clocks really are AC only and won't work at all.

I couldn't get my variable speed drill to work, probably because the speed control electronics are incompatible with DC. Good candidates are appliances or tools that can perform their functions with watts of input power or less and which present a narrow range of loads such as the mixer and electric drill. Although producing heat with electricity is usually a bad idea, I think that small soldering irons might also work well since they are almost all are under watts and most are less than 50 watts.

Since there is no voltage regulation at all, connecting the generator output directly to the power input jack of battery powered TVs, radios, and similar devices will probably destroy the sensitive electronics. Use the generator to charge the batteries, and power the electronics from the batteries. Since the generator is capable of outputting several amps it may be best to charge only batteries that can accept a charging rate in this range, and then building an efficient switchmode regulator to charge smaller cells and batteries off of the large battery.

The final, and as yet unexplored, application is hitching mechanical loads such as a water pump or grain grinder to the PTO end of the axle using roller chain.

I expect a lot more useful work out of this arrangement as it avoids the inefficient conversion of the rider's mechanical energy into electricity and then back to mechanical energy via electric motors.

One suggestion that came up during testing was to drive a heavy flywheel to dampen out electrical load variations, but that was never tried. This measurement doesn't mean much because it took a lot of torque to turn Short Circuit 4 to 5 Amps DC the generator against a short circuit. It was hard to get consistent readings due to the speed fluctuations from the low rate of pedaling that could be achieved.

This test had the same problem as 5. The peak value was a Watts Peak few second burst of speed. The difference between this test and the previous one could be variability of effort on the part of the rider, perhaps as a result of fatigue.

The generator has a very low output impedance and the ideal load would be the lowest resistance that will still allow the rider to pedal at an effective rate. The best setup was to put a rectifier diode in series with the generator output. This stopped the battery current from driving the generator backwards and enabled the Battery Charging Great rider to start pedaling without any initial resistance. It was then possible to take up the charging current load gradually as the generator output exceeded the battery voltage plus the forward voltage drop across the diode.

Moderate pedaling effort was required to run this appliance up to operating speed. I loaded the motor by trying to slow the rotation of the beaters Waring Multispeed Handmixer Good by hand. There was plenty of available torque to use the mixer in its typical applications. I'm certain that similar appliances such as blenders and food processors would work just as well.

The only special consideration was to ensure a steady feed rate while drilling to avoid load fluctuations. Considerable pedaling effort was required to get the saw up to operating speed and it bogged down to a standstill when a cut through a 2 x 4 was tried. I'm RPM sure a person has enough power to saw a board, after all, I can do it with a hand saw using only the muscles in one arm!

I would like to try this test with a saw designed to run efficiently on DC such as the battery operated ones made by DeWalt. The nameplate claimed 2 horsepower and the motor's size was perhaps 3" in diameter and 6" long. Acknowledgements: During my "what if" phase of research on the internet I was directed to David Butcher's Pedal Generator page which provided me with the proof of concept I needed to justify building my own version of a bicycle powered generator.

I think my results correlate well with his. I would also like to thank my long time friend Mike who spent several hours with his Paramount mountain bike clamped in my contraption pedaling diligently while I measured and fiddled around. For reference he is in his mid 50's, in good physical health, a non-smoker and semi-regular recreational cyclist, so you can scale your own expectations accordingly. These lights are powered by v the grid and are fluorescent.

They are relatively efficient, but they are all wired to the same switch, and they all come on at once. They are too bright for the gentle "ambient light" my wife and I like to have in mornings and evenings, when we are just making coffee or drifting in and out of the kitchen to visit the sink or refrigerator.

We wanted a light that was solar powered, efficient, based on white LED technology, and much less bright. With a little effort, we built one! This page is for the do-it- yourself solar light enthusiast. Anyone could build one of these lights! While it does not have to be solar powered, simply recharging the batteries from a solar panel is all it takes to keep the lights "off the grid.

Here are the details: The light has 3 white LEDs, with a pull switch used to turn it on an off. The light body is free to rotate, giving the light the ability to be directed through a degree arc. Power is 4. It's not as bright as the 40 watt fluorescent lights next to it by any stretch, but it is impressive how much light can be produced by running only one tenth of a watt through these little solid state lamps.

The LED lamps are powered by three Ray-O-Vac D Alkaline rechargeable batteries, charged weekly using a small watt 12v to v inverter powered by a solar panel and battery, and a Ray-O-Vac battery charger. The system has worked flawlessly. In other words, we are using times less energy to produce the light we need for many of the activities in the kitchen. This single project enabled us to dramatically reduce the use of a number of v grid powered lights. While the v lights are still available, the solar LED lights are convenient, and they are almost always enough.

They are simple, easy to build, cheap, and hundreds of times less power-hungry than their v counterparts. Are you ready to build your light? Let's begin! Understanding the design, and theory of operation The design of the light is extremely simple. The light itself is constructed of a wooden dowel.

The LED's are attached to the dowel, using electrical tape.