THE four stationary bikes look almost like any others, except that they are fitted with an arm crank and are hooked up to a generator. As riders pedal and turn the lever, the movement creates a current that flows to a battery pack. They generate an average of 200 watts, enough to run the stereo, a 37-inch L.C.D. television and a laptop for for as long as the bikes are being pedaled at this new gym in Portland, Ore.
Green Microgym, one of a new breed of fitness clubs that seek to harness the power of human exercise as a source of electricity.
The club has energy efficient treadmills, remanufactured elliptical trainers and barbells “rescued from negligent owners on Craigslist,” Mr. Boesel said. Wall-mounted solar panels, to be installed this fall, will generate about eight kilowatts of electricity, he said. The gym doesn’t have any showers or drinking fountains, and the club’s 70 members live within walking distance, “which is probably the greenest part of the gym,” Adam Boesel,who opened the Green Microgym, said.
The idea to install power generating machines came from a Hong Kong club, California Fitness, that opened last year with similar equipment. On the same day the Microgym opened, the Ridgefield Fitness Club in Ridgefield, Conn., installed yet another version of the technology from a company called the Green Revolution — on 17 of the club’s stationary bicycles.
“There’s an undercurrent,” Mr. Boesel said. “In 20 years, all cardio equipment will probably have the capability of generating electricity.”
The typical health club uses a huge amount of energy and water, said John Kersh, a former director of international development for the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.
David Butcher, a Web manager in Los Gatos, Calif., is ahead of the game. For the last two years, Mr. Butcher has been riding a pedal-powered generator he created in his basement. He said his 45-minute exercise routine, supplies power to his laptop computer, a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner and compact fluorescents.
– from nytimes