Anyone training here not only does something for their health, but also produces electricity. In California’s Sacramento there is the first gym in the US, which supplies itself with electrical energy.
„That’s the idea I came up with“ – that’s the phrase you usually hear when you explain the concept of EcoFit, a gym in Sacramento. And here the idea was implemented.
The studio lets its members pedal on its machines, branches off the electricity generated and thereby lowers its electricity bill. EcoFit in Sacramento, the capital of California, is the first gym in the US to provide itself with electrical energy.
Power generation on the bike
Jose Avina has made a dream come true with his gym and implemented an idea that never left him. He proudly points to the green power lines in the two-storey gym, formerly used as a warehouse.
The leads all lead to a rectangular box on the wall – the battery. „Our monitoring system tells us how much energy is left in the battery, and when the ad goes down, our members have to get on the bikes.“
Solar panel as an emergency solution
On the roof of the building stands the emergency solution: solar panels help to charge the battery. To the electricity supplier Avina pays $ 30 a month – the basic charge. He draws no energy from the power grid.
When the former soldier of the US Marine Corps wanted to implement his idea almost two years ago, it hailed first refusals. „I talked to a bank and a group of investors, but they thought the idea was too crazy and said nobody had tasted it, and they asked me how I would be successful, and I said I did not know that and That’s why I need your support. “
Only Jose’s uncle believed in his nephew’s idea and invested in the gym.
Excess energy is stored
The next problem: There are hardly any companies that convert fitness equipment such as spinning bikes or cross-trainers so that they produce electricity and do not consume. Fortunately, Jose found a Seattle company that did just that.
„When people get on the bikes and pedal a couple of times, they produce electricity for the bike, and the surplus energy goes straight into the battery, and on a monitor they can see how many watts they are producing and how much of it is being fed.“
The one who produces the most, trains for free
After just over a year, the gym has 80 paying members. The upper floor is the most important room in terms of electricity generation. Here are 15 spinning wheels. On one Brianna cycles and sweats: „It’s the little things that make the difference – I’ve produced 150 watts of energy today – in principle it’s so easy, you do not even have to think.“
Next, Jose wants to „gamify“ his gym: Soon there will be an overview of the members that produce the most electricity. If there was a competition, then the members produced even more power, says the 30-year-old. Jose wants to release the monthly membership fee to the member that produces the most electricity.
His gym is just the beginning, he says. Everything is still „in beta“. If he has enough experience, then he wants to open a bigger studio.
