Many people around the world believe in the idea of reducing their carbon footprint. The awareness is one part but inventing ideas to make living more sustainable is totally different. 59-year-old Jim Gregory from Iowa has invented and adopted a greener way of working from home with his PedalPC workstation; a DIY pedal-powered desk that encourages an active work-from-home regime while generating electricity.
Since childhood, Jim had an interest in cycling. He started a grocery delivery service and recycling pickups using bicycles. Next, he founded a bicycle trailer business. The idea got a huge response from customers online but the popularity got him fixated on a desk all day. Not the motionless sort, desirous of an active lifestyle, he began hunting for solutions to stay active while working from his desk and simultaneously reducing environmental impact in some way. Thus the PedalPC was born!
Created first in 2010, Jim has been using his human-powered desk for the last 14 years going over several iterations before setting for the current version. Similar in form factor to an exercise bike, the pedal-powered home office workstation has a fully adjustable seat with a large padded cushion and a mesh backrest to keep you dry as you pedal and work. The frame has been made using rustproof anodized aluminum.
Continuous pedaling helps generate electricity, which is sent to a control box mounted at the back of the desk. The control box has 12V power sockets and USB ports to help supply power to the attached computer and other devices. The control box is fitted with a small computer in its rear that records the power generated while a specially developed webpage allows one to visually see their electricity production and consumption.
Interestingly, Jim has provision for access power you may end-up creating on a day you pedal too much. The access-generated power can be stored in the battery mounted below the control box, which can be used on days when you’re too lazy to pedal.
Also Read: Pedal the Acer eKinekt Bike Desk to Charge Your Laptop and Phone While Working
PedalPC desk can help generate up to 70W of electricity based on how fast you can pedal. It can power a laptop or small desktop computer, a monitor, an inkjet printer, a modem router, a desktop cooling fan, and a small web server for Jim (who can generate up to 250 watt-hours a day). He also uses the electricity to charge phones and small battery-powered tools.
PedalPC workstation gives the dual benefit of providing a medium for exercise when you are working from home while at the same time powering your computing devices and more using renewable energy. It is a great idea for those who wish to stay active while working and also power their workstation with their efforts.
Via: The Guardian
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