Green Power

How responsible do you feel about going green in your facility? The heightened concern about environmental issues has prompted different reactions from people. But, recent surveys show that, despite the role you feel you should play, most people do feel that everyone needs to play a part. And, one fitness facility may be a leader in the green energy department.

One survey, the 2007 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey, found that most Americans are making personal efforts to reduce their impact on the environment through energy conservation (93 percent), recycling (89 percent), conserving water (86 percent), and telling friends and family about environmental issues (70 percent). In addition, 93 percent of Americans believe companies have a responsibility to preserve the environment.

So, how can your facility be one of those companies? We’ve reported on a number of green efforts made by facilities across the country in Fitness Management magazine. But, none so far has managed to top the creativity of the most recent green-ovation put to use at the Ridgefield Fitness Club in Ridgefield, Conn. Ridgefield is the first facility to have a new invention installed on its bikes that actually generates electricity, which is then put back onto the fitness center’s energy grid.

The invention was created by Jay Whelan, who owns the company The Green Revolution Inc. He came up with the idea to generate electricity using stationary cycles by attaching a black box. According to an article in The Ridgefield Press.com, “A group cycling class using 20 bikes has the potential to produce 3.6 megawatts of renewable energy a year. … That number of megawatts is enough to light 72 homes for a month and reduce carbon emissions by 5,000 pounds.”

While Whelan brought the technology to the Ridgefield Fitness Club first “to see how gym members feel about helping the environment during their cardio,” this invention could be the beginning of a green revolution. The company is already working on attachments for other cardio machines, including ellipticals and rowers. Which means that, if Americans really believe that it’s the responsibility of businesses to play a major role in energy conservation, this could be the industry’s ticket to being a positive role model for society.

How important do you feel your role is in the greening of our environment? Important enough to go with The Green Revolution?

Off the Grid

I read an article the other day about The Green Microgym in Portland, Ore. Owner Adam Boesel modified some exercise cycles so that they generate electricity. “Boesel has re-engineered a small motor to capture the pedal power from a trio of Spin bikes [to] generate electricity for the gym’s television and stereo system,” says KOAA.com.

I’m a big fan of modifying (also known as “hacking”) objects to fit a specific need. One of my favorite websites showcases people’s ingenious modifications of Ikea furniture. Repurposing is good for the pocketbook and the environment.

I think what Boesel has done is creative and innovative, and should be applauded. Short of ordering the four-person Team Dynamo, which harnesses the collective power of exercisers as they pedal and turn hand cranks — or investing in some of the other electricity-generating equipment options FM Senior Editor Anne McDonnell discussed in her earlier post about the subject — what other choice do fitness-center-owning inventors who want to get off the grid have but to hack their existing equipment?

This is a feel-good story meant to inspire other facility owners to think outside the box to achieve new levels of eco-consciousness. But I do have some questions.

What about the warranty? Once you modify a piece of fitness equipment, the warranty is null and void, right? And, if you’re not as scientifically and mechanically inclined as Boesel, there’s a good chance you’ll really break something.

What about insurance? How do insurance companies cover a facility with modified equipment? Will they even consider it?

As I said before, I admire Boesel’s initiative. But do I think it’s the ideal solution for most fitness center owners? Not even close.

Exercise-Powered Electricity: Really Not that Crazy

Remember the Flintstone cars that were powered by their legs? Maybe that’s not such a bad idea. Not literally, of course, but the idea that modern machines can be powered by human energy. If that were possible, think about all of the energy that is expended in your facility in one day. Not by the equipment, but by your members.

Since Earth Day was celebrated this month, and since rising energy costs are on most everyone’s minds, I think the time is ripe for a radical idea: Harness the energy of humans exercising to supply electricity.

This idea actually isn’t that crazy. There is currently a cycle stand on the market that has a battery pack that saves the energy created from cycling into a battery. Currently, most indoor cycles use human energy to power the electronics on the actual cycle. This could be taken one step further, so that any extra energy is stored, or used to power other things in the fitness center (maybe the treadmill next to the cycle?).

For treadmills, strength training and even group exercise, willing participants could have a device attached to them (maybe on their wrists and ankles – I’m making this up, here) that would store the energy created by movement – like those flashlights that are powered by shaking them. This power could be stored in some sort of battery to be used later.

I know it’s a bit of a leap to go from a shakable flashlight to powering a treadmill, but the technology is out there. Someday, fitness centers will be completely powered by the physical energy created by their members. And you heard it here first!

The Fitness Industry Is No Friend to the Environment

Fitness centers are loud and bright and crammed with equipment that requires electricity. They have pools and showers and hot tubs that require water and heat. They are big boxes with high ceilings that require more air conditioning in the summer than most types of businesses. They have members using water bottles and reading papers and magazines that get thrown away, instead of being recycled. They are, in other words, no friend to the environment.

Are we ignorant about how to “go green”? Do we not care? Is it too much of an effort? A recent industry trade show boasted about 130 seminars for facility owners and managers, but not one of them had anything to do with the “green” craze that is happening in other industries. But, maybe the show organizers actually got it right. One of the keynote addresses, “Healthy People, Healthy Planet,” was about how living healthy (eating organic, walking more, riding your bike to work, etc.) can actually be healthy for the environment, too. This keynote, unfortunately, had a dismal turnout, which makes me think that the fitness industry just isn’t ready to deal with this important issue.

The politics of “global warming” may have turned some people off, but I think that the industry may actually be just too concerned with profits to care about the environment. However, the facts go against this type of thinking. Establishing environmentally friendly practices at your fitness center can actually save you money. Low-energy lighting, solar electricity, low-energy equipment, low-flow showers and toilets, a paperless office, double-paned windows, etc., can all save your facility money in the long run.

There are many resources out there for fitness centers that want to do more. The Environmental Protection Agency offers tips on energy efficiency and renewable energy, water conservation, environmentally preferable building materials, waste reduction and more. The U.S. Green Building Council offers tools and information you need to design, build and operate a green building. And Green Building Solutions gives tips on everything in a building from plumbing to flooring to roofing. In addition, an article in Fitness Management gives specific tips for fitness centers wishing to go green.

The resources are there. Now all the industry needs is motivation, or, possibly, a more sympathetic attitude about what is happening to our planet.