whoa...
2009-07-16 16:44:07
10
New bike-sharing system could help pay for bus power
"The idea is to put "ultracapacitors" into the bikes that will harness and store the kinetic energy generated by pedaling and braking. Once you return the bike to its rental kiosk, the energy stored in the bike will be transferred to the city's smart grid, and used to help power hybrid buses."
http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-07/biking-could-help-power-bus-gives-you-ride-home
2009-07-16 16:42:51
that is insane... and beginning to feel like the matrix
2009-07-16 16:56:40
Frieds keep sending me stuff about electric supplemented bikes, but I keep waiting for a regenerative braking system.
Trying to couple that regenerative power to anything other than powering the bike is extremely silly, IMO. Putting human muscle power into the grid as electricity is like putting pedals on the famed $58 K SUV.
The article says
"If all the energy was captured, it would be the equivalent of 1/100th of a gram of combusted gasoline in a normal bus."
The writer is pretty much giving a quiz: "Paying attention? A dozen bikes over a few days and you could power a bus trip that goes a whole foot in distance!"
Now, I would be interested in recouping the power I lose in braking while going downhill towards a traffic light the next time I go up a hill.
The pathetic little bit of power the capacitor stores going down 18th street would be most welcome as I pedal my ass up 5th to Oakland.
Mick
2009-07-16 17:11:33
how about using the juice to recharge lights... thats where i would hope to see this tech going
2009-07-16 17:38:45
FWIW, I was reading an different article about the bike/bus thing earlier today, which eventually led me to this other article that claims regenerative braking on a bike is not worth it:
http://www.ativsolutions.com/cblog/index.php?/archives/24-Regenerative-Braking.html
Although, it is an interesting concept and obviously if the weight/cost can eventually be brought down it could become viable....
2009-07-16 17:41:03
oh well... there's always mini wind turbines
2009-07-16 17:51:35
Let's see... historical uses of human power on an industrial scale:
1. Building the pyramids
2. Galley slaves - rowing boats
Yeah. Doesn't seem like people are all that good at turning food (stored sunshine) into motive power.
2009-07-16 18:59:34
This seems like a waste of money to me. The amount of energy these bike generators would make is so small. I think installing extra solar panels would be be an easier way way to get some green power.
2009-07-16 20:23:57
Now if you want to get serious with green power for public transit, I'd like to see a commercial scale wind turbine (or two) on the strip of ground between I-279 and the Ross Garage. If it can't be used for recharging the buses, it can certainly help with their 24/7 use of electricity in running lights, tools, etc.
As to bicycles, I'd be happy with a set of rechargeable C-cells, embedded in the frame, to power my lights, etc., which get recharged each time I apply the brake.
2009-07-17 02:32:41