The road to sustainable exercise: Using stationary bicycles to power a green gym

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the amount of electric power that a stationary bike can produce. The end goal is to determine if it is feasible to power an entire “green gym“ using only stationary bikes. This study is significant because the process of configuring a stationary bike to produce electricity is simple, and therefore, could potentially be implemented in gyms worldwide. Non renewable energy sources are quickly depleting, and the search for alternative energy is at its height, which is precisely why this study is of importance. The energy generated by pedalling the bike was captured and converted into electrical energy using a DC generator. Power input and electric power output were measured using a power meter and an electrical load circuit along with a data acquisition system respectively. The efficiency was determined to be (51±4.3)% within a confidence interval of 95%. Five male subjects of age 19.5 ± 0.5 years participated in the study. Each produced 54 watts on average over the course of a 10 minute workout. Considering a small gym would require approximately 265 watts, it would require five bikes to continuously power the gym. This result proves that pedal power can be utilized as an alternative energy source for low power consumption applications.