Rain Power - Reclaim Energy For Free!

On a long car journey yesterday my mind started wandering as I glimpsed a large wind turbine. I started thinking about ways of harnessing energy from natural occurrences.


From regenerative braking in vehicles to hydro-electric power in the home, I came up with some wacky ideas!


My favourite was to collect the rain that falls onto the roofs of buildings and channel them into a storage tank. From the tank, a pipe would run towards the ground and through a turbine before it is made available as a hosepipe or into a butt. The pressure of the falling water through the pipe would generate electrical energy from the turbine that could be transferred to a storage battery and used later, reducing the energy requirements of the house/building.


How much energy it would produce, I have no idea, but I like the idea! An easy after market solution would be to fit small cheap turbines to the bottom of existing guttering. 


Today, I did some Googling and found out that, unsurprisingly, I am not the first person to think of this idea. There are a few other papers, blogs and forum posts talking about the same thing. The fact that I haven't seen a DIY fit it yourself kit probably means it is not a viable option. Who knows?!


I had a wacky idea that could save fuel but I won't disclose that yet as I did a patent search and couldn't find one that mentions it anywhere so I'll try and see if it is a viable option before going down the route of getting a patent and then licensing it to Honda, BMW or Volkswagen for millions!


I'm interested to know of more ideas that could be developed - list them here if you have one? (I promise I won't steal it for profit!)

Tabata Row on the Concept2

I've done Tabata workouts before on the Concept2 indoor rowing machine, and as i had limited time today thought I'd sneak in a quick session.


1k warm up - 3:54


30 x 60kg bench press (gym challenge from a friend!)


Tabatas - at 15 strokes per minute, max power. So, 8 x (20 secs on, 10 secs off), 5 strokes per rep.


99m - 1:41.0 - r15
99m - 1:41.0 - r15
98m - 1:42.0 - r15
98m - 1:42.0 - r15
97m - 1:43.0 - r15
96m - 1:44.1 - r15
96m - 1:44.1 - r15
95m - 1:45.2 - r15


Total work metres - 778m - 1:42.8 - r15


2k cool down - 9:00.0


I found it tough by rep 4 and the last rep was a killer, glutes hurting. This workout is great for when you have limited time to train as your metabolism will be high hours afterwards, helping to burn fat.


Here's how to set it up on the Concept2 PM4 monitor:


TABATA

5k row, 60kg Bench Challenge

Felt weak because I missed breakfast and lunch today before the gym so chose a steady 5000m row on the indoor Concept2 machine.

5000m - 19:55.2 - 1:59.5 pace - 22 strokes / min

Got a bit shaky and dizzy towards the end which is a sign of fatigue or poor nutrition and energy levels.

Then, it was a challenge from a friend - How many reps of 60kg can you bench press in one go?

I managed 27 before my arms gave way! next time 30+

Then did some more bench pressing and a cycle to cool down.

Will rest tomorrow as I obviously need it - oh, and EAT!

Indoor Rowing Power Training

Needed to get some cardio in today before weights for upper body and power tests.

5000m - 20:30.2 - 2:03 - r23 - good sweaty meters

5,4,3,2,1 - wide grip chins
3 x 8 x #15 45 deg lat pulldowns
3 x 8 x #8 reverse flye machine
15,12,8 x 50kg incline bench

100m - 16.1 - 1:20.5 - r45 - df78 (min drag test)
200m - 1:26.5 - r27 - max drag

Max r20 tests at low, max and mid drag:

30s - 167m - 1:29.8 - r20 - 483w - df100
30s - 167m - 1:29.8 - r20 - 483w - df175
30s - 168m - 1:29.2 - r20 - 492w - df139

Then went and found Mat to take a video of me doing one of these r20 30s bursts for those that asked to see what it looked like. Only thing is - can't work out how to rotate the first bit without a video editor facility that works!