At the Columbia Association's Athletic Club, members are running the facility — in a sense.
The 28 Green Revolution bikes installed in November 2010 allow members to get an intense workout while storing the renewable energy created during their cycling.
A one-hour spinning class with one instructor and 27 participants has the potential to generate more than 2,000 watts per hour — enough power to light more than 100 compact fluorescent lights.
After about three months of use, cyclists had generated an amount of energy equivalent to powering five homes for one day or brewing 5,585 cups of coffee, and captured 321 pounds of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) from entering the environment.
To view CA's online energy tracker, go to www.columbiaassociation.com/content/getfit/facilities/athletic_club.cfm.