For years, people have been asking me and others at OSU why we don’t harness all that energy from people working out on stationary bikes and other exercise equipment. There were some very good technical reasons, including a gap in technology available to convert this intermittent energy into the alternating current that buildings use. One arrangement I cobbled together with a staff member from Dixon Rec a couple years ago was hard to pedal and we couldn’t adjust the resistance level to match the kind of workout flexibility modern machines have.
This has all changed. Twenty-two elliptical units at Dixon now have the capability to create useful electricity, rather than extra heat.
At noon on Wednesday, February 18, OSU will host a kickoff event to show off our new installation of power harnessing equipment at Dixon. It will include a tour of the installation and a demonstration of how it works.
I’ll post more details here as they are released in the next two days or so.
CATEGORIES: Energy