11 cents per kilowatt hour

Job opportunity: A team of bicyclists will be employed to generate one kilowatt of electricity, all day and all night. Their bikes are stationary and they drive electrical generators in a gymnasium. How many bikes are needed? How much can we pay the people who generate at the ordinary market value of $0.11 per kilowatt hour?

1 horsepower = 745 watts

1 hp = 550 foot pounds per second

1 man can pedal 55 foot pounds per second during a shift

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

1 kilowatt / 75 watt per bike = 13 bikes

3 shifts of 8 hours per day

39 bikers

$0.11 per hour / 13 people = .85 cents per person per hour

Conclusion : We can pay each bicyclist less than one penny per hour to generate electricity at the market rate. Or pay them four hundred times more to burn coal.

 

[George Herold]

On Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 2:53:39 PM UTC-4, Tom Biasi wrote:

On 5/26/2016 2:05 PM, omnilobe@gmail.com wrote:
Job opportunity: A team of bicyclists will be employed to generate one kilowatt of electricity, all day and all night. Their bikes are stationary and they drive electrical generators in a gymnasium. How many bikes are needed? How much can we pay the people who generate at the ordinary market value of $0.11 per kilowatt hour?

1 horsepower = 745 watts

1 hp = 550 foot pounds per second

1 man can pedal 55 foot pounds per second during a shift

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

1 kilowatt / 75 watt per bike = 13 bikes

3 shifts of 8 hours per day

39 bikers

$0.11 per hour / 13 people = .85 cents per person per hour

Conclusion : We can pay each bicyclist less than one penny per hour to generate electricity at the market rate. Or pay them four hundred times more to burn coal.

I know there must be a point in there somewhere.

There will be some pointy bits on the bike sprocket.

George H.

 

On Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 11:05:10 AM UTC-7, omni...@gmail.com wrote:

Job opportunity: A team of bicyclists will be employed to generate one kilowatt of electricity, all day and all night. Their bikes are stationary and they drive electrical generators in a gymnasium. How many bikes are needed? How much can we pay the people who generate at the ordinary market value of $0.11 per kilowatt hour?

1 horsepower = 745 watts

1 hp = 550 foot pounds per second

1 man can pedal 55 foot pounds per second during a shift

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

1 kilowatt / 75 watt per bike = 13 bikes

3 shifts of 8 hours per day

39 bikers

$0.11 per hour / 13 people = .85 cents per person per hour

Conclusion : We can pay each bicyclist less than one penny per hour to generate electricity at the market rate. Or pay them four hundred times more to burn coal.

The reality is, people *pay* for gym memberships.



Michael

 

On Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 10:35:03 AM UTC-10, Nobody wrote:

On Thu, 26 May 2016 11:05:06 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

That seems pretty low. Athletes expend ~500W sustained (long-distance
events taking over an hour) and >1kW for events taking a minute or so.

Base metabolism is ~100W.

But if you were serious about using muscle power, animals would seem to be
a better bet (you only have to pay for the food, no wage on top of that).

Base metabolism 100 watts, before doing the job for 8 hours a day. 100 watts to surf the internet pushing buttons and not generating yet.

100 watts = 100 joules per second

E = 24 hour/day 3600 seconds/hr 100 joules

E = 9 Megajoules Joules/day

1 calorie = 4.2 Joules

E = 2000 kilocalories = 2000 Calories

The point is that electricity is inexpensive enough that manual labor is worth less than 5 cents per hour in some tasks. That is for an athlete who generates for 8 hours delivering ten times the power that I would provide. Like that song, Big Bad John.

Basic electronics is easy. Power equals energy per second.

 

[Tom Biasi]

On 5/26/2016 2:05 PM, omnilobe@gmail.com wrote:

Job opportunity: A team of bicyclists will be employed to generate one kilowatt of electricity, all day and all night. Their bikes are stationary and they drive electrical generators in a gymnasium. How many bikes are needed? How much can we pay the people who generate at the ordinary market value of $0.11 per kilowatt hour?

1 horsepower = 745 watts

1 hp = 550 foot pounds per second

1 man can pedal 55 foot pounds per second during a shift

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

1 kilowatt / 75 watt per bike = 13 bikes

3 shifts of 8 hours per day

39 bikers

$0.11 per hour / 13 people = .85 cents per person per hour

Conclusion : We can pay each bicyclist less than one penny per hour to generate electricity at the market rate. Or pay them four hundred times more to burn coal.

I know there must be a point in there somewhere.

 

[Phil Hobbs]

On 05/26/2016 03:02 PM, George Herold wrote:

On Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 2:53:39 PM UTC-4, Tom Biasi wrote:
On 5/26/2016 2:05 PM, omnilobe@gmail.com wrote:
Job opportunity: A team of bicyclists will be employed to
generate one kilowatt of electricity, all day and all night.
Their bikes are stationary and they drive electrical generators
in a gymnasium. How many bikes are needed? How much can we pay
the people who generate at the ordinary market value of $0.11 per
kilowatt hour?

1 horsepower = 745 watts

1 hp = 550 foot pounds per second

1 man can pedal 55 foot pounds per second during a shift

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

1 kilowatt / 75 watt per bike = 13 bikes

3 shifts of 8 hours per day

39 bikers

$0.11 per hour / 13 people = .85 cents per person per hour

Conclusion : We can pay each bicyclist less than one penny per
hour to generate electricity at the market rate. Or pay them four
hundred times more to burn coal.

I know there must be a point in there somewhere.

There will be some pointy bits on the bike sprocket.

George H.

Might be an excerpt from a secret Occupy Wall Street proposal.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

 

[Nobody]

On Thu, 26 May 2016 11:05:06 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

> 1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

That seems pretty low. Athletes expend ~500W sustained (long-distance
events taking over an hour) and >1kW for events taking a minute or so.

Base metabolism is ~100W.

But if you were serious about using muscle power, animals would seem to be
a better bet (you only have to pay for the food, no wage on top of that).

 

[Michael Black]

On Thu, 26 May 2016, Nobody wrote:

On Thu, 26 May 2016 11:05:06 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

That seems pretty low. Athletes expend ~500W sustained (long-distance
events taking over an hour) and >1kW for events taking a minute or so.

Base metabolism is ~100W.

But if you were serious about using muscle power, animals would seem to be
a better bet (you only have to pay for the food, no wage on top of that).

But if you use people, they'll pay you for the chance to lose those
unwanted pounds

Michael

 

[George Herold]

On Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 4:35:03 PM UTC-4, Nobody wrote:

On Thu, 26 May 2016 11:05:06 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

That seems pretty low. Athletes expend ~500W sustained (long-distance
events taking over an hour) and >1kW for events taking a minute or so.

Base metabolism is ~100W.

But if you were serious about using muscle power, animals would seem to be
a better bet (you only have to pay for the food, no wage on top of that).

I don't think you could pedal a stationary bike
at 25W for several hours.
(I'm thinking of a museum exhibit, the bike was kinda,
tired and worn.) The amount you expend,
and your output power, are two different numbers.
~10% efficiency is a good guess, Athletics can do
50W.... I'm making up numbers. :^)

George H.

 

[M Philbrook]

In article <alpine.LNX.2.02.1605261721250.24831@darkstar.example.org>,
et472@ncf.ca says...

On Thu, 26 May 2016, Nobody wrote:

On Thu, 26 May 2016 11:05:06 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

That seems pretty low. Athletes expend ~500W sustained (long-distance
events taking over an hour) and >1kW for events taking a minute or so.

Base metabolism is ~100W.

But if you were serious about using muscle power, animals would seem to be
a better bet (you only have to pay for the food, no wage on top of that).


But if you use people, they'll pay you for the chance to lose those
unwanted pounds

Michael

Yes, a much needed idea !

Jamie

 

[Helmut Wabnig]

On Thu, 26 May 2016 11:05:06 -0700 (PDT), omnilobe@gmail.com wrote:

Job opportunity: A team of bicyclists will be employed to generate one kilowatt of electricity, all day and all night. Their bikes are stationary and they drive electrical generators in a gymnasium. How many bikes are needed? How much can we pay the people who generate at the ordinary market value of $0.11 per kilowatt hour?

1 horsepower = 745 watts

1 hp = 550 foot pounds per second

1 man can pedal 55 foot pounds per second during a shift

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

1 kilowatt / 75 watt per bike = 13 bikes

3 shifts of 8 hours per day

39 bikers

$0.11 per hour / 13 people = .85 cents per person per hour

Conclusion : We can pay each bicyclist less than one penny per hour to generate electricity at the market rate. Or pay them four hundred times more to burn coal.

Look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C93cL_zDVIM
Hundred bicycles power a house.


w.

 

Dear Helmut, I looked at the bicycle generator video. The work gang makes up to 121 watts per person in the video. That is like lifting 90 pounds up one foot per second. My estimate of 75 watts is not for a power surge, it is for 8 hour shifts. The maintenance costs on bicycles will exceed the value added by selling kilowatts for 11 cents each. Burning coal is much more efficient and cost effective, in the short haul.

 

[Jasen Betts]

On 2016-05-26, Nobody <nobody@nowhere.invalid> wrote:

On Thu, 26 May 2016 11:05:06 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

1 manpower = (55/550)745 = 75 watts

That seems pretty low. Athletes expend ~500W sustained (long-distance
events taking over an hour) and >1kW for events taking a minute or so.

Base metabolism is ~100W.

But if you were serious about using muscle power, animals would seem to be
a better bet (you only have to pay for the food, no wage on top of that).

cant't buy much food at that rate.
animals aren't a good way to turn biomass into mechanical energy.

--
\_(ツ)_