Is it possible to power a small apt building with wattage generated by a healthclub?

Question

I work in a small store front gym in a large city, and we have 3 floors of residential apartments above us. I was wondering if it's possible to harness the energy produced by the members using our cardiovascular equipment, and then turn it into usable power for the residents above us. The thought is part of a larger picture, building 3-story apt. buildings with healthclubs on the first floor, where the building is totally powered by the output of the gym patrons. Not only would this provide an alternative to oil-dependency, it might help with that whole obesity thing that we seem to be suffering in this country. Maybe gym membership would be complimentary to residents, or utility bills would be variable, depending on the amount of time spent in the gym, working out. What do you think?

addendum: so how do we get greater wattage from the equipment? And what about combining the idea with solar panels, like one of the other answers suggested?

Answer 1

I think it is an excellent idea, lets see...
A person (150 #) on a stationary bicycle using moderate exertion would expect to burn 450 cal in one hour which is really 450,000 cal in the real world which translates to 523 W-hr or approx 0.5 kWh. If the bike is hooked up to a generator there would be mechanical losses assume 80% eefficiency. The amount of energy you could harness is .4 kWh . If you had all 20 bikes running all the time for 10 hours per day you would harness 80 kWh per day. At 13 cents per kWh you can expect to make a maximum of $10.40 per 10 hour day .

That with all the bikes going all day (which is unlikely!). Now all those generators would cost money. There would be safety concerns with the electricals, and maintenance.

The amount it would cost verses the amount you can get back does not balance.

Excellent idea though it doesn't make cents, keep thinking!

Answer 2

I had always thought of something like this but I believe the power output of the people would only cover a small part of the electricity demand. I think solar panels coupled with geothermal heat with electricity generated from heath club patrons could cover a lot of the power demand.

Answer 3

I was just on an exercise bike and looked at the meters on it. My leisurely pedaling generated about 40 watts. If I tried much harder I could hit one hundred or two hundred watts. Now compare that to a TV that uses 200 watts in a room that has two hundred-watt lamps. To me that indicates that there are not enough exercisers to hit even one room in an apartment while they are exercising (and of course eventually they get tired and stop). Add in all the watts for the refrigerator and maybe an electric stove and you see the impossibility of that approach.

Answer 4

Not really. Each person will only be able to generate a couple of hundred watts. Even an athlete flat out could only produce 1kW for a very short time.

Answer 5

No.