A Day of Pedal Generation with the PPPM

 9:00 AM - Morning Workout

My first pedal of the day is in the garage. As of 2008, my typical weekend workout is 60 Watt-hours. If I am feeling inspired, and battery level is high enough, I start up a webcast and watch to see if anyone would like to chat with me about the PPPM or Pedal Power in general. Otherwise, I use the workout time to read books, magazines, or plan my day.

The battery bank powers the monitor on my computer, my home office cordless phone, and it charges virtually everything in the house that is rechargeable, from NiMH batteries to my electric razor and Cell phones.

Technical:

• 100 Watt constant output.
• Connected directly to a large battery bank.
• Webcast includes a Laptop computer and a 13 Watt Compact Fluorescent light. Both are powered by a 150 Watt inverter.

10:00 AM - Pedal a Load of Laundry

After a short rest break, I move to the laundry room, where a second PPPM awaits. I pedal a load of laundry.

Technical:

• 100 Watt constant output.
• The PPPM is connected to the Power Board. This board includes a 1,000 Watt 12 Volt DC to 110 Volt AC Inverter.
• The 15 Volt 58 Farad Maxwell Ultracapacitor on the Power Board helps smooth out the Washer's power requirements.
• The Portable Power System is also connected to help with the heavy power needs of the pump-and-spin cycle.

11:00 AM - Pedal a Loaf of Bread

As the laundry dries, I pedal the kneading cycle for a loaf of bread.

Technical:

• 100 Watt constant output.
• The PPPM remains connected to the Power Board.
• The 15 Volt 58 Farad Maxwell Ultracapacitor on the Power Board helps smooth out the Bread Machine's power requirements. It starts and stops while kneading the bread, and the Ultracapacitor is perfect to "save up" and "release" exactly the power the Bread Machine needs.
• The Portable Power System is not needed for the Bread Machine, so it is disconnected.

1:00 PM - Pedal a Bicycle!

After the morning work is done, I try to plan a genuine bicycle trip! I take a camera and film the trip to add to the library of videos in the Green Virtual Gym.

Technical:

• Watts: Unknown - but 10 Mph is about the right speed for filming.
• The bicycle is MUCH easier to pedal at 10 Mph than the PPPM is at 100 Watts.

19:00 PM - Pedal Production of PPPM Plans (2)

Every time I ship a set of PPPM Plans, I pedal while the CD is being burned. I generate 10 Watt-hours for each set of plans to offset the power needed to run the computer while producing the plans.

Technical:

• 100 Watt constant output.
• I use the PPPM in the garage for this activity, as it is connected to the main battery bank.

22:00 PM - Electric Blanket

Just before I turn in for the night, during Winter months I pedal the electric blanket on my bed. It's a 12 Volt DC blanket. I use a long 12 Volt extension cord to go from the PPPM in the laundry room to the blanket.

Technical:

• 60 Watt constant output.
• I generally pedal between 12 and 18 Watt-hours, depending on how cold it is.
• The PPPM remains connected to the Power Board.
• The 15 Volt 58 Farad Maxwell Ultracapacitor on the Power Board helps smooth out the voltage, which would otherwise require my attention. The electric blanket tolerates a very wide range of voltage, but it could still be damaged if the voltage went too high.
• The Portable Power System is not needed for the Bread Machine, so it is disconnected.

And that ends my day. I pedal more on Saturday than any other day of the week. It's a good workout! Feeling inspired? Consider building your own PPPM!

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