K C Baiju's exercise cycle powers his phone, fan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: No one recycles waste the way K.C. Baiju does. Every morning the energy he normally would have wasted labouring on his exercise bike, Baiju channels to generate more than enough power to charge not just his smartphone but also a small fan he has attached to the cycle.

Baiju, a KSEB sub-engineer who works in the innovation group of the Renewable Energy section, has retrofitted his ordinary exercise bike to function as both an exercise machine and a power generating unit simultaneously. Baiju said that not just an exercise cycle but any moving exercise contraption – elliptical machine or roving machine – can be modified to generate power.

“Normally 40 to 120 watts of energy could be generated from an exercise machine,” he said. Power is generated whenever the machine is in use, and this would be good enough to charge a mobile or a laptop or an emergency lamp. “If the exercise machine is recalibrated, and fitted with a storage battery, these gym instruments can be used to power even invertors and LED lamps,” he said.

Big health clubs in countries like America are already transforming their instruments into energy-saving devices. These contraptions, according to Baiju, are less efficient and costly. “In American gymnasiums, new components like dynamo and special belts are attached to the exercise machine. These additions reduce efficiency, and they increase cost too. There is also the issue of maintenance,” Baiju said.

Baiju’s has simplified the technology. He does not use a dynamo or other components that adds to the weight of the exercise instrument. “I use only a magnet and a pick-up coil, which imposes virtually no mechanical energy on the machine” he said. Therefore, he said his machine has an efficiency of over 60 percent as against the 30 percent of American health clubs.

It is electromagnetic induction, where a voltage is produced across an electrical conductor as a result of its dynamic interaction with a magnetic field, Baiju has put to effective use. For more information call Baiju at 9447290345.