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Dixon generating energy from exercise

Dixon Rec. Center recently retrofitted 22 of its elliptical machines to generate power back into the grid when used

Rebecca Johnson

Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: News
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Jan Schaeffer, special projects coordinator for Energy Trust, powers a light bulb on a new energy-generating elliptical machine at Dixon Rec. Center. Brandon Trelstad, Oregon State's sustainability coordinator, switches between incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs to demonstrate power consumption.
Media Credit: Cory Reed
Jan Schaeffer, special projects coordinator for Energy Trust, powers a light bulb on a new energy-generating elliptical machine at Dixon Rec. Center. Brandon Trelstad, Oregon State's sustainability coordinator, switches between incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs to demonstrate power consumption.
OSU is leading the way in technology that will simultaneously allow students to get in shape and help in the campus effort of going green.

Dixon Recreational Center has retrofitted 22 elliptical machines to convert power produced from a person's workout and supply it back into the power grid to provide a portion of the gym's energy needs.

The machines are connected to an inverter box that is tied into the gym's grid system. The energy comes from the heat that is produced from the resistors on the equipment.

That heat was energy that was being wasted before, but is now able to be harnessed and used as a sustainable energy source thanks to this new technology.

OSU is only the second university in the country to use this technology and has the largest system of its kind so far. According to Glen Johansen, vice president of sales for ReRev.com, OSU is now the "largest human power plant in the world."

The machines have a very high efficiency rate, converting 97 percent of the energy produced by a person's workout and putting it back into the power grid.

Johansson explained that one machine over seven years is capable of producing one megawatt.

Since this is a pilot program and the technology is fairly new, it is not known exactly how much energy will be produced by the equipment at Dixon. It is estimated that around 3,500 kilowatt/hrs a year could be produced.

This would be enough to power a small, but very efficient house, according to Brandon Trelstad, OSU sustainability coordinator.

Students should not feel any difference in their workouts, but should be aware that the higher the resistance on the machine the more power is produced.
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