Brown University Students Generate Power by Working Out
Credit: Elina Pipa using the energy-generating fitness equipment that she helped get installed in the campus gym. Photo by Nick Dentamaro, courtesy of Brown University- Brown University students can generate electricity and offset costs and carbon emissions by working out on certain cardio equipment.
- Brown’s normal treadmills are the second-largest energy burden on the gym.
- Rising senior Elina Pipa worked with the athletics department to implement SportsArt machines in the gym last year.
- SportsArt equipment offsets energy and carbon emissions at a rate similar to the gym’s solar panels, according to Pipa’s research.
Students are generating electricity at Brown University, but not in a lab — at the gym.
Brown University students working out on campus can use their energy to create electricity thanks to an initiative by Elina Pipa, a rising senior studying international affairs and economics through the lens of sustainability.
The university has almost 10 SportsArt ellipticals, treadmills, steppers, and stationary bikes that students can use to generate electricity for the university. The machines not only generate electricity but also cut down on electricity costs since they don’t need power to run.
Besides the pool, Pipa said treadmills carry the largest energy burden in Brown’s gym. An hour on Brown’s traditional treadmills expends about enough energy to power a lightbulb for 3,500 hours. When students use the SportsArt cardio equipment instead, they offset energy and carbon emissions at a rate comparable to the gym’s solar panels.
However, Pipa said implementing the equipment was more important for educational and social benefits than cost and energy savings.
“I think it shows students that you can implement climate-friendly solutions in your everyday life very seamlessly without really understanding the difference,” Pipa told BestColleges.
“I think that’s very important because it shows that you can contribute to mitigating carbon emissions in small ways in your everyday lifestyle without really going out of your way to change your routine and change your ways.”
From Classroom Idea to University Implementation
Pipa developed the idea in a climate solutions class. Students explored solutions to different public fields’ climate issues and pitched ideas at the end of the semester.
As she brainstormed ideas for her project, Pipa came across a hamster scurrying on a wheel, powering a lightbulb.
“And I was like, ‘Wait, does that exist for humans?'” Pipa told BestColleges.
Pipa researched and found SportsArt, a gym equipment company selling machines that generate electricity into a power grid through human kinetic energy. She then developed a business case for electricity-generating cardiovascular equipment at Brown’s gym.
After analyzing the cost, she found it wasn’t much of a burden on the university. Pipa outlined the environmental, social, economic, and educational benefits to her professor who got in touch with the athletics department. The machines were installed last year.
The plan also fits in with Brown’s aggressive push toward sustainability. In 2019, Brown set a goal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by next year and become climate neutral by 2040.
SportsArt cardio equipment produces an average of 220 watt-hours per workout, converting up to 74% of human kinetic energy. According to Pipa’s report, the projected savings per year offset about 1% of the gym’s energy demands and 1.72% of carbon emissions — comparable to the building’s solar panels.
Pipa told BestColleges that the machines started saving money right away since they don’t require any power to operate.
Educational and Social Benefit Over Cost
Pipa surveyed students during the trial period and received a lot of good feedback. Students said they didn’t really feel any difference using the SportsArt equipment and liked that they were helping the environment while exercising.
“I love the fact that the school is proactively looking to implement new technology in regards to sustainability. I think the software is really useful and puts energy consumption into perspective for a lot of students,” one student said in the survey.
Pipa hopes to inspire students to think of other ways to implement more climate-friendly solutions without changing their lifestyles too much. She believes that people in climate policy and finance are starting to realize that a climate solution is the easiest to execute when it can be a direct replacement for a carbon-intensive alternative.
At the gym, signs point out how the SportsArt machines differ and educate students on their environmental benefits. Pipa said that since students at Brown generally want to be more climate-conscious, they’re happy to use the machines without an incentive.
“I also just think it’s quite cool to say that you produced electricity because you ran on a treadmill,” Pipa said.
A University Inspiring and Supporting Student Solutions
Pipa said the university has a wonderful cohort of faculty and students who inspire her to make changes in the world. She especially thanks her professor who helped her implement her work because it was easy and tangible while fitting into Brown’s sustainability plan.
She also worked with the director of athletics to flesh out the details and analyze different options within the athletics budget. A year later, students are still using the machines, and they’ve made some changes based on students’ feedback.
The gym used to have rowing machines, but the team replaced them with stationary bikes and more ellipticals after receiving student feedback. Pipa said the team is still discussing adding more machines, but nothing’s concrete just yet.
In the meantime, students seem satisfied with reducing emissions while getting in their cardio.
“Works the same, and saves energy. Win-win,” a university student said in her survey.