Is it feasible to generate useful amounts of electricity by having people manually generate it, e.g. by riding an exercise bike?

Question

I’m not familiar with the mechanics of electricity generation and such, so I’m curious if there are good reasons why this isn’t possible or useful.

Edit: thanks for the great responses! I gather that the main problems revolve around the fact that it will take more energy to outfit the machinery and feed the people than you’ll get in return.

In: 5

Answer 1

Something like this was actually done as an experiment for a TV show in Britain a few years ago to look into energy efficiency and wastefulness. A ‘regular’ family (2 parents, 2 approx. teen kids IIRC) had their house connected to generators connected to a fleet of exercise bikes and volunteers pedalled them to supply the energy.

The upshot was a lot of exhausted cyclists when the kids (especially) kept leaving lights on while not in rooms etc. They apparently did feel quite guilty afterwards and promised to change their ways but who knows…