When you go to the gym, do you think about how much power you’re expelling? The Columbia Athletic Club, part of Columbia Association, in Columbia, MD, just installed 28 Green Revolution stationary bicycles to divert the power exercisers produce and put it into the facility’s power grid.
The bikes in the spin class work to power the building. Each 45-minute cycling class averages about 20 bikes, and produces as much as 3.6 Megawatts of energy over the course of the year. That’s enough power to light 72 homes for a month. It reduces about two tons of carbon emissions per year, according to Green Revolution Inc.
Does it feel like you’re generating energy on the bike? “The ride is actually smoother than it was previously, so that has been an added bonus!” said Leslie Flynn, general manager of the Columbia Athletic Club.
“The generator does not add any measurable resistance to the bike,” explained Mike Curnyn, chief strategy and marketing officer and co-founder of Green Revolution, the Ridgefield, CT-based company that supplies the green bikes.
Since adding the bikes to the gym, Columbia Athletic Association has seen an increase in participants in its spin classes. “We have added two classes due to an increase in demand, partly because of the new Green Revolution bikes, but also in part to the usual increase during the busy season,” said Flynn, referring to January to March when more people attend fitness classes. The club currently runs 22 classes a week and looks to put more on the schedule. “We are maximizing our energy producing potential,” Flynn said.