A&A Environmental Consulting Group

1578 Alpha St. Los Angeles, CA 90027

Phone: 323-489-8756

TO: Sustainability Task Force, CSUCI

FROM: Andy Amalyan
SUBJECT: Improved Energy Efficiency Through the Recreation Center
DATE: November 21, 2017

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to give a short overview of how energy is being used at California
State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI) and what options there are for improvements in
energy conservation. Energy conservation is an important sustainable practice at California State
University, Channel Islands. This report will explore how special eco-friendly fitness equipment
will contribute towards energy consumption and lower electricity costs for the university.
Specifically, this report will address an eco-friendly gym, primary and secondary research,
different types of energy efficient and energy producing fitness equipment, and costs associated
with these improvements.

Background

There have been major improvements towards energy conservation at CSUCI since 2008, CSU
Channel Islands, under the leadership of Department of Facilities Services (FS), has pursued
campus energy conservation since Sustainability efforts were made a priority at the beginning of
the 2008/09 academic year (Energy Conservation, csuci.edu). Figure 1, shows how energy
consumption has been reduced by about 40 % since 2008.

Figure 1: Electricity Usage

CSU, Channel Islands Recreation Center is one of the biggest energy consuming buildings since
there are several exercise equipment plugged into electric outlets. My recommendation would be
to incorporate a self-sufficient recreation center like the eco-friendly gym known as, The Green
Micro Gym.

The Green Micro Gym

The Green Micro Gym is an Eco Fitness gym started by Adam Boesel in Portland, Oregon in
2008. His whole business is based around the idea that members will make electricity while
exercising. He created electricity generating exercise equipment to help him run his gym on
clean reusable energy. Adams mission is to make the world a better place and get in shape at
the same time (Story of the Green Micro Gym)

Methods of Investigation

a. Primary Research
I contacted Adam Boesel, the CEO of Micro Green Gym, through e-mail and phone to
conduct a questionnaire. I asked Mr. Boesel a set of questions, including what motivated him
to start this business, his mission statement, costs of equipment, and success rate of business.
Adam Boesel was very professional, extremely nice, and humble. He did his best to answer
all my questions regarding self-sufficient energy producing gyms and equipment. In addition
to answering my questions, Adam Boesel sent me a price guide for the fitness equipment. He
also offered a 20 percent discount for buying more than 10 machines. Figure 2 shows the
types of fitness equipment with their costs.

Product Quantity Price ($) Total

Indoor Cycle G510 10 2,795.00 27,950.00
Recumbent Cycle G545 10 3,395.00 33,950.00
Elliptical G845 15 5,795.00 86,925.00
Treadmill T655M 10 6,250.00 62,500.00
Total 45 18,235.00 211,325.00
Discount: 20% 42,265.00

Grand Total $169,060.00

Figure 2: Product/Cost
 Findings

The Green Micro Gyms mission statement is, make the world a better place and get in
shape at the same time.
Adam created the fitness equipment through the help of other companies such as, Pedal A
Watt, Human Dynamo, Green Revolution, and SportsArt Fitness.
His design made it possible for anyone to convert energy into electricity and power their
buildings.
The gym uses about 85% less electricity
A member of the Green Gym saves about ton of carbon emissions compared to a
member of a regular gym.
Young people expect your business to be green.
No installation costs.

b. Secondary Research
Secondary research was collected from reliable sources found on the internet. Specifically,
the Green Micro Gym website, other gyms who have experienced similar equipment, and
CSU, Channel Islands Recreation Center website. Most all sources had similar findings
regarding energy efficient and energy producing equipment and gyms. Figure 3 is a word
cloud showing the most common words found from my research.

Figure 3: Word Cloud

 Findings
Innovative and sustainable gyms such as the Green Micro Gym are the future of gyms in
America.
The Green Microgym has been able to comparatively save in one year the equivalency
of reducing carbon emissions by 74,000 pounds, 81,400 miles driven, and 15 acres of
planted trees (active.com).
30 minutes of exercise on the fitness ellipticals and spin bikes fully charges five cell
phones, seven hours of iPad use, or seven hours of CFL lighting.
SportsArt brand treadmills use 30 percent less energy than regular treadmills.
An incentive program can motivate members exercise and create energy for the facilities
by earning points through workouts and being rewarded by receiving local business gift
cards.
Solar panels can help cut energy costs in addition to electricity generating equipment.
Avoiding the sale of plastic utensils and bottles will help aid the campus to go green.
A professional cyclist can generate up to 400 watts of power.
Using 45 energy generating fitness equipment for 15 hours/day will help save
$285.52/month and $3,473.89/year.
Total enrollment for CSUCI in 2017 was 7,053.
Annual Recreation center membership for students is $140.

Conclusion

Energy conservation and production at CSU, Channel Islands and at the Recreation Center is an
important issue to be considered by the Sustainability Task Force. The Green Micro Gym is one
of the first successful energy efficient and clean reusable energy producing gyms in the nation. A
similar setup to the Green Micro Gym would require 20 energy producing cycles, 15 energy
producing ellipticals, and 10 low energy consuming treadmills. The total cost for these electricity
generating fitness equipment would be around $169,000. CSU, Channel Islands generates
$980,420 annually from students for recreation and athletic fees. The total monthly savings for
using the machines 16 hours a day would amount to $285.52 making the gym somewhat self-
sufficient. Similar gyms have used solar panels to help save more money on electricity. In
addition to savings on electric bills, the switch to eco-friendly fitness equipment and help save up
to 74,000 pounds of carbon emissions per year.
 Works Cited

1. Dhillon, Kisar S. The Green Microgym: A Leader in Sustainable Fitness. ACTIVE.com,

Active.com, 16 Feb. 2012, www.active.com/fitness/articles/the-green-microgym-a-
leader-in-sustainable-fitness?page=1.
2. Energy Conservation. Energy Conservation - Facilities Services (FS) - CSU Channel
Islands, www.csuci.edu/fs/sustainability/energy-conservation/.
3. Green Micro Gym: Electricity Generating Fitness Equipment. The Green Microgym:
Electricity-Generating Fitness Equipment, www.thegreenmicrogym.com/.