EUGENE, Ore. — As she pedaled an elliptical exercise machine at the University of Oregon, Wen Lee’s face lit up like the light bulbs she was powering.
"I could run my television with this,” the environmental studies graduate student said between breaths, making the three bulbs on the stand in front of her glow brighter as part of a demonstration of renewable people power.
Splitting the $14,000 cost with the local utility, Eugene Water and Electric Board, the school has retrofitted 20 Precor elliptical machines to generate electricity using technology from ReRev.com of St. Petersburg, Fla.
The power from each machine in the Student Recreation Center goes through a converter that turns DC into AC, and a meter to keep track before it flows into the grid.
The amount of electricity produced is small. The university estimates that 3,000 people a day on 20 machines would generate 6,000 kilowatt hours a year, enough to power one small energy-efficient house in the Northwest.
The power is a drop in the bucket compared to the University of Oregon’s overall electricity consumption, which is equivalent to 2,280 houses, said sustainability director Steve Mital.
And Northwest electricity rates are so low it would take 28 years to recoup the investment.
Oregon decided to take the plunge at the suggestion of students.
"So much of this talk about renewables is fairly abstract,” Mital said. "You jump on one of these machines and 30 minutes later you have a deep visceral understanding of what that means. That’s what I’m after, primarily.”
by the associated press
"I could run my television with this,” the environmental studies graduate student said between breaths, making the three bulbs on the stand in front of her glow brighter as part of a demonstration of renewable people power.
Splitting the $14,000 cost with the local utility, Eugene Water and Electric Board, the school has retrofitted 20 Precor elliptical machines to generate electricity using technology from ReRev.com of St. Petersburg, Fla.
The power from each machine in the Student Recreation Center goes through a converter that turns DC into AC, and a meter to keep track before it flows into the grid.
The amount of electricity produced is small. The university estimates that 3,000 people a day on 20 machines would generate 6,000 kilowatt hours a year, enough to power one small energy-efficient house in the Northwest.
The power is a drop in the bucket compared to the University of Oregon’s overall electricity consumption, which is equivalent to 2,280 houses, said sustainability director Steve Mital.
And Northwest electricity rates are so low it would take 28 years to recoup the investment.
Oregon decided to take the plunge at the suggestion of students.
"So much of this talk about renewables is fairly abstract,” Mital said. "You jump on one of these machines and 30 minutes later you have a deep visceral understanding of what that means. That’s what I’m after, primarily.”
by the associated press
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