Digital Journal – In Portland, the Green Microgym is claiming to be the first fitness center in the U.S. to use solar power and human-powered cardio machines to produce renewable energy. Essentially, you can help power the Microgym by pedaling on a cycling machine.
Opening its doors on Sept. 1, the Green Microgym boasts several eco-friendly innovations: the Human Dynamo prototype, an exercise machine of four bikes attached to a small generator; treadmills that generate one-third less energy than its ordinary counterparts; solar panel awnings; energy efficient ceiling fans; and no showers, to save on dealing with a water heater.
Since it opened, the Microgym has attracted 90 members who pay $30 a month plus an enrolment fee of $100. The 3,000-square-foot gym is also a neighbourhood gym, which owner Adam Boesel says is one of the greenest part of the facility. “Most people walk to the gym,” he tells DigitalJournal.com, “ so there are no carbon emissions.”
But the Microgym hasn’t been fielding calls from CNN, the New York Times and the BBC because it’s a regular community gym. Boesel says his facility is one of the few gyms in the world to be powered by the sun and human energy, an idea that adds a layer of originality to the center. “When I created this gym, I wanted to differentiate it from the other gyms out there,” Boesel says. He adds that the capital costs of starting the Microgym weren’t as daunting as he first thought – Orgeon’s environmental incentives pays him back some of the money he invested in the solar panels. And the Human Dynamo machine is on loan free for six months.
Boesel says he’s uncertain how much electricity is being used in the gym, but the owner of the Human Dynamo says the invention can produce 200 to 600 watts of energy an hour. Boesel hopes to eventually monitor all the energy savings once more machines become grid-tied.
The Microgym is slated in Portland’s Alberta arts district, a 20-block area known to home to creative artists, art galleries and coffee shops. The members to the gym range from their mid 30s to early 40s.
While there other gyms in the area, Boesel thinks undecided people will choose his facility when “all things being equal.” After all, he muses, “being green is something you can’t be against at this point.”
Pamela Kufahl, editor of Club Industry’s Fitness Business Pro magazine, told the L.A. Times: “People in general are paying more attention to being more environmentally friendly. Club owners and their staffs are aware of this and they know their members are too.”
Boesel says his gym should be just the beginning for other fitness centers in the U.S. “We’re on the cusp of something here. This is an aspirational goal, as politicians say, but I think this gym can make produce completely renewable energy when we have all the equipment we want.”
