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.
Actually I do try to work out 2 hours/day but not to make 6 cents/day of electricity. I get my Korean drama fix that way.
Thank heaven for people that know science.
But if we pick up all these illegals and while they are waiting to get sent back across, we make them work these bikes. Well.....
.06 for 2 hours 1 bike.
6.00 for 2 hours 100 bikes.
600.00 for 2 hours 10,000 bikes.
3000.00 for 10 hours x 10,000 bikes
18,000 for 10 hours x 60,000 bikes
1,800,000 for 10 hours x 6,000,000
3,600,000 for 10 hours x 12,000,000
Soooo we could get around 3.5 million bucks every single stinking day.... thats like 1.5Billion a year, heck thats equivilant two .....1/500th of a bailout? Oh I guess it aint that much then is it.
Something like this probably wouldn’t be installed in existing houses as much as it would in new, I’d guess.
I’m also thinking that if cost was a huge issue, those new outlets wouldn’t be in every room of the house.
If there was a cheap and easy way to sell power back to the power company, it would likely increase sales of wind / hydro / solar. Having your own power generating might come in handy if tshf.