Portland's Green Microgym Channels Human Exercise Power Into Electricity
by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 08.25.08
We've covered gyms that harvest power from human exertion in Hong Kong, where California Fitness, a wholly owned subsidiary of the 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide chain, has installed cardio machines that help light the facility.
Now a gym in Portland, Oregon is taking the green gym philosophy one step further by incorporating an environmental ethic into the whole business plan. First off, the Green Microgym generates as much as 40 percent of its own electricity from solar panels and exercise machines like stationary bikes.
Gym owner Adam Boesel recently demonstrated for the Los Angeles Times the Human Dynamo, an exercise machine consisting of four spin bikes attached to a small generator. While pedaling one of the bikes and turning an arm crank that strengthens the upper body, a digital readout showed the amount of watts Boesel's produced. The Human Dynamo system can produce 200 watts to 600 watts of energy an hour, depending on whether all four bikes are in use.
In addition to the power-generating machines, the gym also has energy-efficient SportsArt EcoPowr treadmills with self-regulating, brushless motor drive systems that run on one third less energy than traditional motors. The gym will conserve energy by switching off most machines when not in use. And the green has several other green accolades, listed in its Fifteen ways our gym is green page. Boesel is also available for one-on-one consultation for greening gyms. :: Via Los Angeles Times
More on Green Gyms:
TreeHugger Picks: Get a Green Workout
Gimnasio Ecológico Lumen
Treadmills Suck. (Kilowatts)
Human Power Generator from Windstream Power
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
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- Rooftop Solar Power Installations to Receive Generous French Feed-In-Tariff
- Renewable "Energy Islands" at Sea Could Power Cities, Produce Fresh Water and More
- How to Go Green: Beers
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Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. When we can get power from free weights, then we are really in business.
We can solve our energy crisis and our obesity epidemic at the same time!
I'm all for using energy efficient lighting and machines, turning things off when not in use, power from solar panels, etc. However, I think using people-power to spin a generator is a little over the top. To be fair, I haven't done the math, but I wonder if the energy recovered from the machines is enough to justify the cost of the extra hardware required to collect it (generators, storage, inverters, etc). All people are different, of course, but an average person is only going to put out about 100-150 watts while spinning away on the cycle, a good portion of which already powers the on-board electronics.
The fact that you are at a gym tells me your lifestyle is full of extravagant conveniences. Try some gardening, cycling, walk/running, push mowing/edging, raking/sweeping, washing the car by hand, cleaning w/o chemicals, etc. You will be in great shape without any membership fees.
"200 watts to 600 watts of energy an hour"
Sorry, but someone needs to be the unit police. The "an hour" is incorrect and unneeded, because a watt is a unit of power, not energy. Watts/hour doesn't mean anything.