UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST

Caloocan Campus

A THESIS PROPOSAL ON PEDAL-POWERED GENERATOR

Submitted by:

Espinosa, Adrian
Moredo, Carl Joseph C.

EN - 6C

August 6, 2015
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Today, with the heavy use of automobiles combined with the burning of

fossil fuels, increasing problems are affecting human health and climate change

as a result of air pollution. Pedal power energy has been in use since the

nineteenth century. Aside from transportation, pedal-power energy can be

applied to a tremendous variety of jobs that contribute to less pollution and

conserve energy in the home. Pedal power uses the most powerful muscles in

the body: the quads, hamstrings, and calves, converting ninety-five percent of

exertion into energy.

Studies have been conducted in pedal-powered generator. Arndt (2014)

modified mix single-rate/altered rigging bicycle that functioned admirably,

because of its capacity to hold a cog on either side of the back wheel. The chain

on the right is driven by the pedals, while an included chain the left twists the

engine. As an afterthought that is driven by the pedals, she utilized a freewheel,

which turns the wheel when she’s accelerating yet permits it to continue turning

forward, without the chain moving, when she’s drifting or accelerating in reverse.

On the left half of the wheel, she connected an altered machine gear-piece,

which turns toward the chain the length of the wheel is turning.
The use of pedal-powered generator is not a new technology, however

connecting it into a bicycle to produce the electricity is just recently being able to

interest some researchers. This technology is being significant because of the

benefits from it. Creating this technology makes a lot of sense in producing

electricity.
 This study aims to produce electricity on pedal-powered generator. The

study is simple yet it is helpful for us. The pedal-powered generator can produce

by as much as 100 watts of continuous output by a normal person. An athlete

can produce as much as 300-400 watts of continuous output. This study can also

make a person using this technology to be physically fit.

B. Statement of the Problem

This study aims to design a pedal-powered generator.

Specifically, the following questions will be answered:

1. What appliances can be powered with this machine?

2. Can this machine be helpful in conserving electricity?

3. How much output power could be produced with this machine?

C. Objectives of the Study

General Objectives:

This study aims to design a pedal-powered generator.

Specific Objectives:

- To test if it can power home appliances.

- To design a machine that can be helpful in conserving electricity.

- To test how much output can the machine produce.

D. Significance of the Study

 This technology is helpful in conserving electricity. Nowadays, we

experience a shortage in electricity and this machine can be helpful in producing

a renewable energy. The machine can be used in powering some home

appliances at the same time you’ll be exercising.

Global warming is one of our major concerns, such as greenhouse gasses

that affect our ozone layer. This project can reduce the use of vehicles that emits

greenhouse gasses and let us store energy while travelling.

E. Scope and Limitation

The main objective of this study is to design a pedal-powered generator.

The power that would be produced can power up some home appliances. A

person can produce about 100 watts of continuous output. By this we could light

up a 100-watt incandescent bulb for an hour.

However, the power that it can produce is limited. Some appliances that

use more electricity can’t power up by this machine.

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

A. Related Literature

We know that the law on conservation of energy states that, energy cannot be

created nor destroyed but can be transformed from one form to another. According to

Katoch (2012), “humans are able to generate approximately 150W of power while riding
bicycle.” If we can make use of this energy, we would be able to power many electronic

devices. Nowadays, we know that many of people who go to the gym uses stationary

bike as a means for losing weight. Also there are quite a number of people here in the

Philippines that uses bicycle as a mode of transportation. That’s why generating power

from the energy we release can make quite a difference to the world instead of

continuing wasting our limited resources.

Power generated by pedaling can be converted from mechanical to electrical

energy by using either dynamo or alternator. Small powered lighting devices can be

charged using dynamo and can be used in the night by students for study purposes.

This principle can be extended to power mobiles, iPods, laptops etc.

Power can be also generated from the rotation of the wheels of alternator

vehicles like bikes and cars, where there is a possibility of generating more power. The

generated power can be either used in the same vehicle or can be stored in a battery

for powering some other devices. Riding bicycle helps in maintaining a good physic and

along with it power can be also generated (Katoch, 2012).

There are various renewable energy sources such solar, wind, hydropower etc.

Developing and exploiting renewable energy sources using modern conversion

technologies can be highly responsive to national and international policy goals

formulated because of environmental, social, and economic opportunities, objectives,

and concerns. The following are the enumerated advantages of renewable sources of

energy.
 • Diversifying energy carriers for the production fuels, electricity, and heat;

enhancing energy security; and reducing the long-run price of fuels from

conventional sources;

• Reducing pollution, environmental emissions, and safety risks from

conventional energy sources that damage human health, natural systems, crops,

and materials;

• Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions down to levels that can be sustained;

• Improving access to clean energy sources and conversion technologies,

thereby helping to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) while taking

advantage of the local availability of renewables; and

• Reducing dependence on and minimizing spending on imported fuels

(Turkenburg, 2011, p. 77).

In the above enumerated examples of advantages that can be driven from

renewable sources of energy, we can infer that the bottom line of it is that we can help

solving environmental problems the most, not to mention that by doing so, in the long

run the one who will really benefit is the human population. But while renewable

sources are basically free and unlimited, it has its disadvantages. The first disadvantage

is the cost. “Although the energy from renewable sources is most often available for

free, renewable energy conversion technologies are often quite capital-intensive...”

(Turkenburg, 2011). This can make renewable sources less attractive, especially when

high discount rates are applied, depending on the level of investments needed as well

as governmental interventions. The market for renewable sources are also few thus

making it hard to market unlike nonrenewable sources.

 For example, people use fossil fuels, which are non-renewable source of energy.

These resources are very expensive but many people invest on extracting these fuels

because there’s a market of it. The problem with nonrenewable sources would also

contain market acceptance, since many people are not yet used to the idea of using

renewable sources. For instance in the use of solar panels, many people believe in the

idea that every panel costs a lot but only produces a small volt of energy, which is true.

Further study is needed to develop the technology so that it’ll cost less but will provide a

larger quantity of volt of energy. Even after it is developed, it has to be marketed to

eliminate the belief that it’s costly but not that useable. If that can be improved, many

people from tropical countries like our country will benefit because we know that we

have a high temperature in here but since every square inch of solar panel is still costly,

and many people are not yet ready to invest for it we’re still using costly fuels and other

nonrenewable sources to have an electricity. That’s why people have to be practical and

wise. There is a need for cheap, renewable energy source that will not contribute to the

pollution.

As long as we are pedaling and the system is working fine, we can get the power

whenever needed. Power generation using bicycle is very cheap and eco-friendly. Even

though people have been using pedal power for various day-to-day chores, generating

electricity from pedaling was not in vogue until few decades back. Today dynamo

equipped bicycles are common which power the incandescent headlights during night.

The rotational energy that is generated when the tire rotates because of the

application of force on the pedals can be used in two ways. This energy can also be

used in dynamo/alternator, which is then converted to electrical energy. Rotational

energy of the tire can be used to pump water out from the well, to drive a washing

machine, to operate blender/grinder etc. These applications can be of very great use in

un-electrified places. Refrigerators can also be powered by pedaling, which are used to

preserve the food during a bicycle trip. Pedal powered pump can pump water from wells

and bore wells, which are very deep and can be used for irrigation and drinking water

purposes. In pedal powered washing machine, the plastic barrel rotates as we pedal.

Thus, water consumption can be also reduced. Using exercise bikes also power can be

generated. Particularly for people living in cities, it is an added advantage that no

separate time is needed and along with exercise, our effort will not go waste (Koch,

2012, p. 5- 6).

The concept of this study is from the idea showed above on just how much

energy people are wasting unconsciously. It would help the problem regarding the

scarcity in the energy resources if we could, in our own ways produce our own energy

because time will surely come where we will find ourselves limited to the resources we

are using now. Above example also shows how the pedaling works to generate power

from the system. As it is, the power generated may not be as large and may not be used

in running a television or an electric fan but surely an hour worth of pedaling can provide

us energy that can at least charge a phone into full battery. Surely, if the amount of

energy will be accumulated, it can provide enough power to run a small system. Further

study and research are needed for the development of running a larger system from

pedal.

In physics, we define power as the rate or doing work. Work, in physics is done

only when a force is applied to a body and moves it. “Work is the product of the force
and displacement resulting from application of force.” (Silverio, 2013, p. 128). She also

stated that the defining equation of power is “work done or force applied to the object

multiplied by displacement over time” (p. 129). For example, the power rating of a

person refers to how fast chemical energy can be transformed by the body into

mechanical energy. Valdez (2006) also stated how the unit used for power was derived:

In the English system, power is expressed as ft. x lb./ s and is expressed in

horsepower (hp). Horsepower is widely used to express the power of large machines.

The earliest use of steam engines was to pump water from mines. This work had

previously been done by horses, so the power of any engine was estimated as equal to

that of many horses. The conversion factors for the units of power in the English system

are: 1 hp= 746 watts, 1 hp= 550ft. x lb/s, 1 kW= 1,000 watts (p. 189).

Work and energy are interrelated, not only in physics but also in real life. For

example, in our daily diet we accumulate energy through taking in foods that were

stored in our body.

The total percentage of body weight that is fat ranges between 15 and 25 percent

for males and 25 to 35 percent for females. This amount of energy from fats that can be

stored in the body is 30 to 60 times that of the amount obtain from carbohydrates.

These data indicate that to maintain a good figure, one should have a diet that has a

low fat content.

Studies made on fat metabolism and exercise show that during prolonged light to

moderate exercise, there is a progressive increase in the absolute amount of fat

oxidized. This means that more energy from fat is released by the body. The studies
also showed that total fat combustion is at a maximum during moderately intense

exercise and becomes nil during very heavy exercise. (Valdez, 2006, p. 191- 192).

In light with this, pedal power generator can serve a dual purpose for an

individual. Not only a person can produce power for simple uses but an individual will

also benefit from because at the same time they also burn calories while pedaling that

will help them maintain a healthier and longer life.

B. Related Studies

The proponents primarily chose the topic because of the abundant resources around

us, and resources are one of the most important factors to consider before conducting a
research or study. The proponents were able to found out that there are a lot of studies

before that is related to the one presented now.

Facelli (2009) conducted a research on how to crank generators to produce

electrical energy. On that time, one of the major problems of U.S.A. was energy. And it’s

still one of the major concerns of the world. He stated that there must be another option

than clean coal technology, and investment in renewable energy sources such as wind

and hydroelectric power. Wind, water and steam turbines generate energy using natural

kinetic sources to rotate drive shafts connected to electric generators. He came up to

the answer, it is foot pedals. Many Americans nowadays are spending their day sitting at

a desk. Instead of just sitting, there should be something that they can do to be more

productive, that is pedalling. Accountants, attorneys and academics could be winding

their legs under the desk as they work. Even students could do pedalling while they are

studying and listening. Imagine, if every desk, office chair and boardroom were

equipped by pedals we could get millions of kilowatt hours of electricity per day. Also

consider exercise facilities like treadmills stationary bikes could be harnessing energy if

equipped with a small generator.

There is a physics professor that compute the output energy of a single working

person. He estimates that an office worker could generate at least one kilowatt of

electricity per day pedalling a small sub-desk generator. When we consider the total

number of office worker and annual work days we are talking about the potential for

billions of kilowatt hours generated annually from human movement alone. That is a big

number to consider. At that point consider the worldwide potential outcomes—India's

call centre alone could power the world if outfitted with pedals. What if we get those

telemarketers winding.

Certainly, there will be cynics. The foundation needed to introduce every one of

those pedals and generators would be stunning, rivals will most likely recommend.

Without a doubt, it will take sooner or later and a touch of R&D, you just have to leave

them to the engineers and smart people like Bill Gates. Maybe in no time they could

build a portable pedal-powered generator that can be easily installed in every desk.

Obesity is also one of the concern in the America. About 35% of population in

America is obese. And this research also aims to exercise one’ body. It is like hitting two

birds in one stone. We are generating electrical energy and at the same time we are

exercising to have good health and a fit body.

Gulland (2008) conducted a study about pedal-powered generator. He was just

curious if he can turn his workouts in to a useful energy. He found out that an efficient

bike generator pedalled by a reasonably fit person can produce by up to 100 watts of

electricity. Also, an experienced biker can produce by up to 400 watts of electricity.

Pedal power is a fun idea that does generate usable amounts of energy, but it's

easy to understand why a human-powered device can be viewed as a trinket without a

meaningful role in a household’s energy supply. The critical factor to making pedal

power a viable option is matching expectations with realistic output.

A pedal-powered generator can produce a direct current (DC), yet you can buy a

battery pack that incorporates an inverter so you can control family unit machines that

keep running on substituting current (AC).

 The pedal-powered generator can’t produce as much as a wind turbine or a

photovoltaic array it can create usable force that adds to your general vitality needs. On

the off chance that you utilize less power in the first place, the sum created by pedal

force can meet a bigger percent of your energy needs.

David Butcher's experience is a valid example. Each morning he goes out to his

carport and pedals a stationary bicycle for no less than a half hour. The exertion he puts

into his workout isn't squandered on grating as it is in many wellness centre. Each pedal

stroke makes power that is sent down a link to his office in the house to control a few

little electrical gadgets. Pedal power energizes his electric razor and his mobile phone,

runs a PC screen, and occasionally runs the compressor that finish off the gaseous

tension in the feels sick of his vehicles. David likewise runs the bicycle generator

specifically to a water pump at whatever point vital for circulating air through and

separating the little patio fishpond.

Most of us are pay our electricity for 4.8php per kilowatt-hour including taxes and

surcharges. By using this pedal-powered generator we could save 4.8php. Not as much

as it looks like but imagine it doing it 3 hours a day for a month. We could save about

400php per month.

This pedal-powered generator can be used by marketing firms as a green image

for human-powered products. It can be used to promote against global warming.

Gulland also pointed out on the fact that this generator can be used for exercising. He

gave an example about a man who’s really dedicated on human-powered electricity.

This man has all of the human-powered mechanisms available. He uses this

mechanisms for exercising and using all the electricity that he gather from there to
power up all of his appliances in his house. This story inspires Gulland to research more

about human-powered electricity. The electricity that it output maybe little but he still

thinks that there could be a human-powered mechanisms that can be made to produce

high amount of energy to be more meaningful in our daily lives.

At the point when researchers begin contemplating parasitic vitality gathering,

they take a gander at the body in an unexpected way, truly looking at it from stem to

gudgeon. They atomize it, picking through it as though for mineral rights. They peer at

our organic chemistry and biomechanics, attempting to figure out exactly the amount of

can be tapped, and where. Thad Starner (2009) a scientist in Georgia Tech discovered

that there are 390 megajoules of energy stored in the body fat of the average person

(the equivalent of 93, 150 calories—about the amount in 283 jelly doughnuts). If only

you could get that energy out, and store it and distribute it—“batteries per se could be

eliminated.” That’s when he started making a research about this human-powered

energy. He wants to come up with a prototype that can convert all of our wasted energy

into a renewable energy and stores it like a battery.

A great example of this research is done in Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon

a stationary bicycle (75 watts) supply the electricity to help run the place like ceiling

fans, LCD TVs and stereos are all people powered. That’s the future of people-powered

technology if we focus on this studies. People-powered has a lot of future in energy this

could also be part of renewable energy if we could build some bigger studies involving

people-powered technologies.
C. Conceptual Framework

Proces
s
• Pedali • Pedal
• Human Bicycle
Motor Diode ng Power
Generator
Battery Inverter
Genera
Outpu
tor
Input
t

The necessary input in making a pedal powered generator are human, bicycle,

motor, diode, generator, battery and inverter. Through pedaling, the input will be able to

produce mechanical energy that will be later converted into electrical energy. The output

of this will be a pedal powered generator.

D. Theoretical Framework

Electrome
Electrome
chanical
chanical
Theory
Theory

Law of
Piezoelectr
Piezoelectr Conservati Mechanic
Mechanic
ic
ic Effect
Effect on of al Energy
al Energy
Energy

Electric
al
Energy

Law of conservation of energy "In physics, the law of conservation of energy

states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, just transformed from one form to
another" (Valdez, 2006). The meaning of this is we can only convert one form of energy

into another to create another kind of energy. For example, a burning candle provides a

light energy but the light energy can be converted to heat energy. Heat energy can be

converted to another form like electrical energy.

Elecrtromechanical Conversion Theory Electromechanical conversion theory

allows to establish expressions for torque in terms of machine electrical variables,

generally the currents due displacement of the mechanical system (Krause, 2013).

Mechanical Energy Mechanical energy refers to the sum of potential energy and

kinetic energy associated with the motion and position of an object (Author, year). In the

study mechanical energy will be produced by pedaling.

Electrical Energy Electrical energy is the energy that is caused by moving electric

charges, denoted by voltage when it is per unit (Silverio,2013). It is also a form of kinetic

energy and the faster the flow of charges, the higher the voltage.

Piezoelectric Effect The piezoelectric effect refers to the ability of certain

materials to "Generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress"

( Silverio,2013).

Chapter 3

Methodology
 This chapter presents the design phases of a project and the hardware

components of it. Those that were included in this chapter helps in understanding how

the machine work.

A. Preliminary Design

Rectifier Capacitor Regulator

Pedal
Generator

Battery

B. Requirements Definitions

Before checking how the pedal-powered generator works, one should

understand the components that make it up.

The first component that is really needed is the bicycle. The bicycle will be

used as the main source of energy. It is where the electricity will came from.

When a man starts pedalling the bicycle the chemical energy into the person’s
body is converted into mechanical energy, then it will be converted again into

electrical energy in the motor.

Second, will be the motor. Ampere’s Law states that an electric charged

passing through a looped circuit produces a magnetic field. Interaction of the

internal electromagnet with a surrounding fixed magnet produces the attractive

and repulsive force associated with the poles of the magnet and causes rotation.

Thus, the motor uses electrical energy to create rational motion but the pedal-

powered generator uses mechanical energy and converts it into electrical energy.

The motor can go about as a generator if the individual's accelerating conquers

the electromotive force of the battery.

Third, will be the Diode. A diode is a particular electronic segment with two

terminals called the anode and the cathode. An anode is a terminal through

which conventional current streams into an enraptured electrical gadget. A

cathode is the terminal from which an ordinary current leaves an enraptured

electrical gadget. An diode allows current to flow in only one direction (from

anode to cathode). Without it the motor would cause the tire to spin instead of the

other way around.

In electricity era, a generator is a gadget that changes over mechanical

energy to electrical energy for utilization in an outside circuit. The source of

mechanical energy may shift generally from a hand wrench to an inward ignition

motor. Generators give almost the majority of the force for electric power grids.

Michael Farraday discovered that if an object or material that conducts electricity

passes through a magnetic field, then an electric current will begin to flow

through that material. As such, the rotating tire causes the motor shaft to rotate,

which produces a current through the leads.

 Battery is a mechanism that converts stored chemical energy into

electrical energy. The electricity generated from the pedal-powered generator can

be stored in a battery.
We can’t use direct current in our appliances and this pedal-powered

generator produces direct current. In order to use the electricity produced form

pedalling, the direct current should be converted into alternative current through

the use of Inverter. The process of converting direct current to alternative current

is known as rectification.

C. Designing Procedures

In able to come up with the best pedal-powered generator that could be

made, we will first design the generator in order to have an overview of the

prototype. This will make the prototyping procedure much easier.

At first, we will not include the wheel of the bike in order to lessen the

friction that it could make thus it could lessen the power that it could create. We

will start designing the prototype by starting with the wood that will serve as the

foundation of the prototype. This will hold the bicycle in the place. After that, we

will design the bicycle with our own preference. In our design we will use a bigger

bicycle. We preferred it because we know that these pedal-powered generators

will be often used by the elders, and then the prototype should be larger in order

to be used efficiently. After that we will design the parts and its order. At first, we

would like to have the motor/generator to be set after the bicycle, then the

diodes. Next will be the Inverter and lastly will be the battery. The order should be
 fixed correctly in order to come up with the best results we could ever make.

There should be a gap/space between each component; these gaps will make

sure that there will be no wiring problems in the prototype. Proper spacing

between components is a must. In the design we will have a 2cm of gap between

each component.
That will be the whole procedure in making the design of our pedal-

powered generator.

Chapter 4

Results and Discussion

We successfully designed a prototype of pedal powered generator. We come up

with the design that is most suited in the pedal powered generator.

The design will provide all of the following:

 A power for at least 4 hours from a full charge battery

 Ability of driving parts specifically from generator if there should be a case of a

dead battery
 Phone charging capability
  Climate proof or effortlessly moveable for ensured storage
 It has a marker for the remaining limit of the battery
 It has a pointer that the bicycle is being accelerated sufficiently quick to charge

the battery
 Being able to expand to other 12 VDC applications through cigarette attachment

connectors
 Coordinated and flexible, low power light source of no less than 500 lumens

generally

In designing the prototype we had so many factors to consider. In order to come

up with the best design that this prototype can be, in making this design we consider

some key factors: convenience, compatibility and stability. We faced some decisions in

making the design of the prototype.

We had decided to remove the wheel to lessen the friction that it could create

and lessen the output of the electricity too. This would mean that we could capitalize on

the electricity that this bicycle could create. For the stability of the pedal powered

generator in our design we include the wood that would hold the bicycle in position. This

serves as the foundation of the pedal powered generator.

We exactly designed the prototype in specific order to avoid the incompatibility of

the materials that will be used in the prototype. This will make the prototype in order.

This arrangement will help us easily recognize the parts of the prototype.
 The design of the prototype also deals with the convenience of the one who will

use it. So, we had decided that we’ll make the design more comfortable so that it will be

easily used. The purpose of this study is to design the most efficient pedal powered

generator that can be used in our daily lives to support us from consumption of

electricity.

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