Human Power Plant

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Visit the Human Power Plant in Antwerp, Belgium, October 8, 2017

September 29, 2017

Human Power Plant under construction.

The Human Power Plant is a working prototype of a muscular power generator, manned by a group of people. We cooperated with makers and sports coaches to build exercise machines that are suited for different types of human power sources, are fun and social to use, and produce a maximum amount of power.

The human power plant is a work in progress. Each time the contraption is moved to another location, we improve, adapt or replace modules. We are now working on a new version at Archipel, an impressive makerspace in Antwerp, Belgium. It will be presented there to the public on October 8 at 2 pm. Everybody is welcome, entrance is free.

The address is Slachthuislaan 70, 2060 Antwerpen. Archipel is located in the middle of a ruined industrial area. The easiest way in is through the Lange Lobroekstraat at the red mailbox. See the nap below:
How to Feed a Human Powered Building

September 24, 2017

The human powered student building is self-sufficient in terms of energy use and produces no CO2. However, humans need extra food when they produce power, and producing this food also requires energy.

Assuming a typical Dutch diet, one kilowatt-hour of human generated electricity produces up to 30 times more greenhouse gases than one kilowatt-hour of grid electricity. How do we keep the human powered community carbon neutral?

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The Human Power Plant: How it Works

September 18, 2017

The Human Power Plant is a working prototype of a muscular power generator, manned by a group of people. We cooperate with makers and sports coaches to build exercise machines that are suited for different types of human power sources, are fun and social to use, and produce a maximum amount of power.

The Human Power Plant is an all-round off-the-grid solution. It can supply energy anywhere and anytime, provided that humans can be motivated to operate it. The power plant supplies energy in the form of electricity, water under pressure, and compressed air. It is built from simple and durable parts.

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Biogas Production

July 13, 2017

The food waste from the kitchen and the excrements of 750 students are used to produce biogas that supplies the thermal energy for cooking.

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Human Power Plant 1.0

June 19, 2017

+ Human Power Plant 1.1

+ Human Power Plant 1.2
The Power Generation Floors

June 7, 2017

Three floors of the human powered student building are taken up by the central human power plant, which is run by the entire community. How long the students need to exercise on these floors, depends only on their demand for energy.

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Zero Footprint Campus

June 3, 2017
Communal Shower & Laundry Floors

May 27, 2017

Two floors of the human powered student building are dedicated to washing clothes and showering — the individual student rooms have no bathrooms or washing machines.

Showering and washing clothes both involve the use of hot water, which requires a lot of human power. To make it work, the student community applies low-tech and lifestyle changes.

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Moving between Floors: The Stairs

May 24, 2017

The human powered student tower building has 22 floors and no passenger elevators.

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Prototype Human Power Plant Under Construction

May 23, 2017

Our prototype human power plant now under construction in the Netherlands. Two more pictures below the fold.

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