Pedaling produces power at University of Oregon
May 18, 2009 12:19 PM
From The Seattle Times: The University of Oregon is the latest in a growing number of college campuses and exercise clubs where workouts produce watts. Splitting the $14,000 cost with a local utility, the school has retrofitted 20 elliptical machines to generate electricity. The power from each machine in the Student Recreation Center goes through a converter that turns DC into AC, and a meter to keep track before it flows into the grid. The amount of electricity produced is small. The university estimates that 3,000 people a day on 20 machines would generate 6,000 kilowatt hours a year, enough to power one small energy-efficient house in the Northwest. But it fits in with other sustainability projects, such as solar panels on the rec-center roof, and a sense of being green among students.
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