Stationary Bike Create Electricity

I found this is the SF Chronicle… Fitness is part of the incentive, but Butcher’s primary motivation is a long-standing, and possibly obsessive, quest to generate his own electricity. So Butcher’s stationary bike, which is wedged in a corner of his detached garage, is not your standard-issue exercise machine: It’s a homemade power plant.

Butcher designed his ingeniously simple pedal generator for maximum comfort and efficiency: As the rider pedals, a wooden flywheel drives an electric motor, which generates an electric current that flows into a bank of salvaged lead-acid batteries for storage. A buried cable connects the batteries to a set of conspicuous orange outlets (denoting the off-the-grid energy source) in Butcher’s home office, where he works as a Web design consultant. The orange outlets power several devices, including a computer monitor (but not the computer), cell phone chargers, a high-efficiency area light and a small Roomba robotic vacuum.

Last year, Butcher’s electricity bill was zero. In fact, he pumped $150 worth of electricity back into the grid. But here’s the catch: It wasn’t the pedaling that did it. Although Butcher’s daily workouts produce 1.8 kilowatt-hours a month, that translates into just 18 cents worth of electricity at today’s rates – about 1 percent of his average monthly usage.

Green Gifts For Mom

This website made me smile…green gifts for mom. The inventors spot is just the kind of innovative website i am looking for…bring inventive people from all arenas together. http://inventorspot.com/articles/11_ecoinnovative_gifts_for_mom_13246

I thought the items were inspirational and humerous! Here are a few of my favorites, both practical and doable (I think).

Reverend Gadget and his magical mystery electric car

I am very excited to make the very first post about innovative and exciting green technology about Reverend Gadget. He owns Left Coast Electric, and converts cars into electric cars. I drove down to LA to meet him, and he said he could convert my ford focus into an electric car for a mere 5K. (yikes). But he is also training others how to do the conversions. He is indeed someone who is doing something…from the Playa, to his dungeon in LA, he manages to have fun while converting one car at a time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONvCsos2T0Q

http://leftcoastelectric.com/content/view/13/29/