Comment on Earth needs more energy. Atlanta’s Super Soaker creator may have a solution.
frongt@lemmy.zip 4 weeks agoThe cost of installing the generator and wiring is far higher than the energy recouped.
Comment on Earth needs more energy. Atlanta’s Super Soaker creator may have a solution.
frongt@lemmy.zip 4 weeks agoThe cost of installing the generator and wiring is far higher than the energy recouped.
Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
That doesent make sense though because automatic doors and handicap accessible doors already have motors which also can be generators and are otherwise connected to power??
Like the only complexity I can think of would be smoothly and safely delivering the power back to the buildings grid but we definitely have overcome these complexities in other applications
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
Think about this… if it were profitable most white collar workers would be riding a stationary bike with a generator, much more energy than a door opening.
A stationary bike over an 8 hour workday would produce probably ~1kWh, so like 19 cents given the US average. That wouldn’t even pay for maintenance and replacement parts for the devices.
Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Its less about the profit and more about offsetting costs. Yes one door wouldnt be really worthwhile but in this circumstance you’re using parts you already need to maintain and run(door pistons and accessibility) and the complexity added to the system could be bypassed should it fail without impacting that core operation
frongt@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
No costs will be offset by this. The device will be replaced multiple times before it ever breaks even on the implementation cost.
jj4211@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Well then you need to handle backfeeding all sorts of circuits, which is generally a pain to the extent it works. But it also would barely do anything.
Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Yes as you typically do with most forms of generation. One door wouldnt do much but multiple doors opening and closing constantly all day surely has the potential to generate some amount of energy.
Ive been in places where the door basically doesent stop moving for hours at a time, even if the door doesent close fully its still moving by someone either opening it wider or it coasting back towards closed position. Compliant exterior doors are typically set to take about 8.5-10lbs of force to open. Im not super good at math but surely that much “weight” moving constantly could generate some electricity. There are small wind turbines that move with less force constantly
jj4211@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
So assuming 10 lbs of force, as measured 1 meter away from the hinge, you have about 44.5 Nm of torque. Assuming each door opening was about 90 degrees, then you have about 70 Joules per door operating event.
Each door opening would have a physical theoretical max of 0.02 watt-hours.
Assuming you spent 8 hours opening a door every 10 seconds constantly, then you have 58 watt-hours of energy at the end of the day if you had 100% efficient generators. One typical solar panel would hit that in under 15 minutes in real-world energy collection, not theoretical.
Poojabber@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Most doors that are controlled for handicap accessability are control using a hydraulic cylinder that costs hundreds of dollars, and not a motor. Any motorized doors cost way way more than that.
I had the same thought when I was younger about putting generators attached to a bouy in the ocean, which has waves constantly and would generate power all day. Just like your door idea, it would work and would make power, but it wouldnt turn a profit. Its too expensive for the output you would get in return. So… yeah… we are gonna continue to burn fossil fuels for now cause its the cheapest… once we deplete enough of them that it gets more expensive than something else, we will switch to that until we destroy the world, or skynet takes over and we become the next power source.