Cost of additional wiring, permits: $8,000.
Cost of synchronous inverter: $2,500.
Exercise bike/treadmill:
Strong rider outputs 1/4 hp for an hour = 746/4 watts = 186.5 watts = .1865 kwh assuming no inefficiencies in the ex bike.
less nominal losses from friction and inverter and mileage display on ex bike: net, .150 kwh.
Assuming 20 c/kwh (VERY high) = 3 cents per hour, assume 1 hr exercise twice a day (yeah, right) = 6 cents a day. = $22/year
Payback period: $10,500. / 22 = 477.27 years.
Fate of suburban stick-built house after 477 years: landfill.
Forgone interest on 10,500 at 1% per annum: $105.
Payback period: Infinite.
Feeeeeeeelings of contributing to Al Gore’s worldview: Priceless.
Next idea.
I thought you were talking about obama’s sexual preference.
Hmmmm. If you plugged the output into the input....
The new administration wants to tax cars getting over 40MPH,
because of lost revenue.
Imagine the new taxes when people stop using more Ele!
How many taxes are repealed for using less energy? Again?
The other thing about this...it’s so banal.
IF you had a valid means of generating power and synchronizing it with the grid, there’s no reason why you couldn’t feed it back into the exact same outlet you extract it from EXCEPT at some point the “output” cable of your generating device would be “hot” with a “male” plug which is a decided no-no. Answer: leave it plugged in all the time or hard wire it into yhour home system, perform the on/off line switch with a real switch (elswhere) like we do with all our other devices.
But what’s typical about this idea from the standpoint of how well it’s been thought out, is that it’s a fifth-grade level deal. Look, for example, at the size of the wire coming out of the plug. (Yes, I know, it’s only an artist’s rendering) but it’s BS = BarackS**t.
Ever wish you could you power your home's electrical appliances with the energy you generate on your exercise bike?First off, what's an "exercise bike"? ;')