Exercise bike inspired by Ukraine war provides backup power during emergencies but why not anytime

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 15:32:10 +0200

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

The exercise bike, dubbed HR Bank, was designed to provide urban dwellers with a reliable source of clean energy, but, perhaps more importantly, also for those in need of power during emergencies like natural disasters or wars.

“Our idea was that a person who bought an HR bank could not only use it as an external battery, charged from the sun or the grid, but in the absence of an external power source, could generate energy by pedalling,” said CEO Jonas Navickas.

A lot of thought has gone into this design with it not only being portable, but also storing a very useful 2kWh of power. Pedalling is not its only source of energy as it can also charge from the grid, car batteries, solar or wind power.

It is not only a clean source of power, but pedalling daily on it will help keep its owner fitter and healthier too.

The downside probably is the price of around €3,000 but I suppose you have to factor in it is a very useful battery storage, an exercise bike, and an emergency generator all rolled into one (saving some space too).

See Exercise bike inspired by Ukraine war provides backup power during emergencies

The bicycle harnesses the kinetic energy produced as you peddle, converts it into electricity, and then stores it for later use.

#technology #emergencypower #batteries

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show all 7 comments

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 17:19:35 +0200

Wolfgang Strobl

ws01@diasp.org

I imagine people who ride an e-bike to the supermarket because cycling is much too strenuous, buy an egg there, drive back home and make a fried egg with 250 W of electrical energy, which requires about four times the amount of energy from food as is required for frying the egg. Using a home trainer as a source of electrical energy makes sence an emergency aid. Selling that as "clean energy" does not.

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 18:04:59 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

@Wolfgang Strobl but travelling to a shop is surely not related directly to an exercise bike? The bike itself is generating clean power? Those who are serious about exercising are going to probably walk a short distance to the shop. It's when the distances are greater or you have 10 bags of groceries to buy, it may not be practical.

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 19:15:56 +0200

Wolfgang Strobl

ws01@diasp.org

but travelling to a shop is surely not related directly to an exercise bike?

I think the popular sharp distinction between transport and sport is nonsense and not beneficial; it is a side effect of a sedentary lifestyle that has become common practice, especially in saturated industrialized nations. The result is that people equip their bikes with motors for ridiculously short distances and then drive to the gym to compensate.

Try to view it from the opposite direction by asking the question: what do I have to do in order to be able ride greater distances fast enough? What is necessary to be able to carry heavy stuff on a bicycle? The answer is simple: you need strength and endurance.

The bicycle has been my primary means of transportation for most of my life. When I was half my age, I didn't need a stinking exercise bike, I made fun of it. I only bought my first exercise bike after an accident left me unable to continue cycling as usual for several years.

A real home trainer, not a toy like the ones shown, is useful for staying strong enough to cover longer distances without a motor, even as you get older or to regain strength after an accident. Of course, there are also shorter routes with steep climbs or shopping trips with several bags containing lots of heavy purchases, causing need for strength. You try to avoid home trainers as long as you can, but sometimes, you can't.

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 11:45:06 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

@Wolfgang Strobl the point is that if one is going to exercise, it was as well also do something useful. The other point was, whatever it does generate is still clean power. I don't think anyone was going to conclude that meant the whole house was now running on clean energy.

I anyway exercise on an elliptical trainer every second day for an hour - I could just as well have been putting that energy of mine into charging a battery. I have a 10kWh battery that gets charged by solar during the day, but on heavily overcast days it has to recharge from grid power if we have our regular power outages. So why not me rather topping it up when I exercise instead? That is cleaner power than using the grid.

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 09:11:09 +0200

Wolfgang Strobl

ws01@diasp.org

the point is that if one is going to exercise, it was as well also do something useful.

Sure. I usually ride my bike outside and for many hours, exercise beeing a valued side effect, not the main reason for doing it. Like you, I train for about an hour every other day on a smart trainer, mounting one of my older road bikes, but only when the weather is bad enough. If your trainer is standing directly beside an solar installation allowing to utilize tiny amounts of surplus electrical energy, good for you!. Unfortunately, that's not an option here.

But what is the amount you actually harvest in a week this way? A quick back of the envelope calculation tells me, that I'd could fill less that 50% of your 10 kWh battery, assuming 50% round trip efficiency, over the course of a year. And that is assuming that such a trainer is indeed able to convert most of the pedaling power into electrical power.

The point is that cycling instead of motorized transport combines two useful activities in one activity, it gets you from A to B and it helps to become or to stay fit. "Excercise" on some kind of indoor training device is just a somewhat inferior temporary substitute. In theory, one could try to optimize such a device for both purposes, indoor trainer and electrical power generator. In practice, you can't, without making it worse for both purposes.

An indoor trainer that helps me cycle less indoors and more outdoors is better.

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 15:24:15 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

@Wolfgang Strobl this exercise bicycle does have a built-in 2 kWh battery so all exercising will top that up. You're right though that it is not a useful solution for proper existing solar systems. I think it is going to be more useful for many homes, like in South Africa, where there is regular load shedding, and they use these smaller stand-alone batteries to power a few devices every day when the power goes off for 2-hour intervals. Instead of recharging the bike battery from the grid, they can get a bit fitter ;-)

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 16:19:28 +0200

Wolfgang Strobl

ws01@diasp.org

Instead of recharging the bike battery from the grid, they can get a bit fitter ;-)

I this case, generating electrical energy is the main purpose, fitness is a side effect. No objection to this. :-) Some other people have the luxury of a hut in a large garden, where the home trainer stands, but have no power supply there. Such a trainer could produce enough electricity for lighting, radio, etc. there, without the need to carry cables or batteries around. Unfortunately, as city dwellers we have no such garden.