Sweat Power is Green Power

Oregon State students working out at Dixon Recreation Center now generate electricity.

By KYLE ODEGARD

Gazette-Times reporter

Oregon State University women worked up a sweat on elliptical training machines at Dixon Recreation Center on Monday afternoon, using up plenty of energy.

But the students were generating energy, too.

“Right now, our power output is 350 watts,” said Barry Evans, a fitness equipment technician, as he looked at an inverter in an adjacent electrical room.

For about a week now, Dixon Recreation Center has been harnessing the energy created by 

22 elliptical trainers.

“They’re probably the most popular machines,” said freshman Molly Bell of Corvallis.

Bell and other students working out hadn’t heard of the green energy program, but they were enthusiastic to learn about it.

Freshman Kate Burr of Clackamas said more schools should follow OSU’s example.

“Maybe it will give people just one more reason to work out,” added Jamie Squires, a freshman from Corvallis.

University representatives said as much as 40 extra exercise machines, such as stationary bikes, could also be hooked into the electrical grid with some additional hardware.

“We’re currently the second university in the country to have this kind of technology,” said Troy Snow, Dixon’s facilities and operations coordinator. The University of Florida was the first, but OSU has more exercise machines hooked to the grid.

“This will make a difference, albeit a small one, in the amount of power that Dixon consumes,” said Brandon Trelstad, OSU’s sustainability coordinator.

Trelstad said the output from the project, in its current state, would be about 3,500 kilowatt-hours of energy per year. That’s roughly the amount needed to power a small, efficient house.

The equipment cost about $15,000 to install. Because the technology is so new, it’s unknown how long it will take for OSU to cover the cost in energy savings. Over the long haul, though, the project will save the university money.

The money for the project came primarily from a contingency fund of the Student Incidental Fee Committee. The Energy Trust of Oregon provided about $6,000, Trelstad said.

Within each of the elliptical trainers is a built-in generator that creates direct current. The machines generate power to provide resistance during workouts. That DC power, however, is routed through wires under the floor to an inverter, where it’s converted to AC power and fed back into the electrical grid.

“It’s very much like a small solar electrical system and uses similar technology,” Trelstad said.

Besides saving the university money on energy purchases, additional savings will be realized through lower summer cooling needs for the building. Instead of creating heat, as most exercise machines do, these will generate usable electricity, so there won’t be as much need for air conditioning.

The Dixon Recreation Center power project is just the latest example of how OSU is stressing sustainability. Last fall, the university was one of only 25 organizations honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with a 2008 Green Power Leadership Award.

A major factor in the honor was an $8.50-per-term “green energy fee” passed by the student body in 2007.

OSU will host a celebration for the new system at noon Wednesday in the upstairs classroom at Dixon Recreation Center.

Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.

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