Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


robscovell

123 posts

Master Geek


#11944 20-Feb-2007 16:14
Send private message

I have been thinking about carbon-neutral computing and started to think about whether I could rig up an exercise bike to power a dynamo to charge a car battery to provide a power source for recharging all the gadgets I have, including my laptop.

Then I realised that the energy would come from food. Unless I each loads of feijoas from the tree in my garden to provide the energy, the food has to be transported to me by carbon-emitting vehicles. So I concluded that it is better to sign up to Meridian (who use 100% renewable energy sources) than to power my gadgets myself.

Are there any eco-power geeks out there who can tell me if my reasoning is correct?


Rob

Create new topic
gchiu
1211 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
DR

  #62360 28-Feb-2007 22:29
Send private message

I don't know about the carbon neutrality of this .. but those feijoas might well help to contribute to greenhouse gases anyway!

If you want to do this for exercise, then you'll need a low speed dynamo.  Most of the dynamos around are high speed, and not suitable to attaching to the bike.

This one was used by the author to power some light bulbs but he did report that he kept blowing the bulbs, when driving them directly.  So, better to use it to charge the batteries.

I now own the dynamo pictured .. it was sold to me by Mr Forbes.





asianbro
47 posts

Geek


  #62409 1-Mar-2007 11:28
Send private message

robscovell: I have been thinking about carbon-neutral computing and started to think about whether I could rig up an exercise bike to power a dynamo to charge a car battery to provide a power source for recharging all the gadgets I have, including my laptop.

Then I realised that the energy would come from food. Unless I each loads of feijoas from the tree in my garden to provide the energy, the food has to be transported to me by carbon-emitting vehicles. So I concluded that it is better to sign up to Meridian (who use 100% renewable energy sources) than to power my gadgets myself.

Are there any eco-power geeks out there who can tell me if my reasoning is correct?


Rob


Yeah, but you need food regardless. Besides, many people are getting fatter from lack of exercise (including me!), which is a waste of energy. We get too much energy from our foods (sugar, carbo, etc), then we end up wasting our excess energy on Friday night.


robscovell

123 posts

Master Geek


  #62953 6-Mar-2007 12:50
Send private message

I like the look of that dynamo!

I'm rather thin, so I'm not really wasting the small amount of food I eat. I suppose the ideal would be for carbon-neutral thin geeks to get their power from friends who have slower metabolic rates ... !

Rob



gchiu
1211 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
DR

  #62956 6-Mar-2007 12:56
Send private message

I think cannibalism is frowned upon in NZ Wink

weblordpepe
460 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user


  #63029 6-Mar-2007 21:42
Send private message

At least cannibalism would solve world hunger and the over-population problem in one hit.

Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.