Davidson unveils new “green” gym equipment

All you gym-goers out there, listen up. Did you know that a 30 minute workout on the new "green" ellipticals in the Union gym generates enough electricity to charge a cell phone six times, run a CFL light bulb for two and a half hours, and power a laptop for one hour? Davidson unveiled its new "Green Gym" equipment last Friday, April 9th at 2 p.m. in the Nisbet Fitness Center. President Tom Ross even donned his tennis shoes and "Everyday is a great day to be a Wildcat" t-shirt to show how the newly installed equipment will continue to reduce Davidson's carbon footprint.
The process of bringing this new green technology to campus had been underway for almost a year and a half before the machines were finally installed over Easter break. Alexis Valauri-Orton '12 was the driving force behind the project, which began in her CIS 171 – Introduction to Environmental Studies class in the fall of 2008. The idea grew out a group assignment that asked students to come up with something that would increase environmental sustainability efforts on the Davidson campus. After an initial brainstorming session, Valauri-Orton and her group contacted a green gym in Portland, Ore. and began gathering more information about possibly bringing this same equipment to Davidson. After securing some funding from a Davidson Green Grant, the project became Valauri-Orton's own from that point on.
"It wasn't just about bringing these new machines to campus," Valauri-Orton said. "I really wanted to take an educational approach and have students know and understand how energy is being used."
And what better place than the gym, which is part of the daily routines of so many Davidson students? Thanks to the ReRev system, the three new elliptical machines take the energy expended during a workout session and transfer it to the Union power grid. We all know how hot and sweaty the Union gym can get during the 5:00 "rush hour." The kinetic energy given off during workouts raises temperatures in the gym and makes the air-conditioning units have to work even harder. Yet the new ReRev machines take human energy and convert it into a form of renewable energy, rerouting the energy that would otherwise have been released as a heat by-product. The energy from your workout is transported to the central processing unit located on the wall of the gym, which changes the human power to utility grade electricity. Each one of the new ellipticals has a controller box that feeds back through a processor and into a central-grid tied inverter that taps directly into the Union's electrical system.
Three new environmentally-minded exercise machines might not seem like a huge deal at first. Yet the ReRev website points out that an elliptical machine in regular use at a gym using ReRev technology will generate one kilowatt hour of electricity every two days, which is the same energy it takes to power a laptop for 24 hours. This new equipment also creates free electricity for the Union. Students working out down in the Nisbet fitness center now have the potential to power the desktop computers television, and Union café lights and appliances while they sweat.
Valauri-Orton said that she realized the potential impact that this technology could have on the Davidson campus, and she worked extremely hard to get it here. After the Green Grant from Davidson, Valauri-Orton filled out an assessment of the current Nisbet Fitness Center machines and contacted ReRev to see about pricing. What she didn't expect was to be hit with a $10,900 price tag for the RetroFit technology. However, Sustainability Fellow and Davidson alum Kealy Devoy '08 helped Valauri-Orton track down a $10,000 grant that could keep her moving toward her goal. In October of 2009, Valauri-Orton submitted her grant proposal to the Brita competition for college and graduate students interested in making their campus more sustainable. By January she had been informed that she was a finalist and in February, she was contacted and told that she had won. After receiving the money from the Brita grant, Valauri-Orton coordinated with the Athletic Department and the Office of Sustainability to pull together the remaining financial resources. However, with two days left before her deadline with ReRev, Valauri-Orton still found herself short on funds. President Tom Ross refused to let Valauri-Orton's project fail and it was thanks to a loan from the President's Office that she could contact ReRev and set up plans for installing the new equipment.
"President Ross is extremely supportive of student projects," Valauri-Orton said. "And he even rearranged his schedule to be at the opening on Friday."
During the opening, Devoy announced that in just the four days since their installation, the three new ReRev ellipticals had been used for a total of 76 hours and had saved 1.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Despite the fact that they have yet to figure out how to convert the money saved from Euros to dollars, there are also significant financial savings as well. (Now you can just practice your conversion skills whenever you workout… adds an academic element to the gym, perhaps.)
While he was working out, a member of the audience jokingly asked President Ross how long it would be before the machines generated a megawatt of power. He laughed and responded from the elliptical, "shortly after I die I believe."
Nevertheless, these new machines are a step toward reducing Davidson's carbon footprint while also increasing environmental awareness among the student body.