Energy Converting Exercise Equipment

Energy Converting Exercise Equipment

By Julie Castro and Elisa Ovadia

Department: OSA, Green Campus Program

Summary: The Green Initiate Fund grant enabled us to purchase five energy converting bicycles for the UCSB Recreation Center. The bicycles harness untapped energy and send it to the grid for further use. Additionally, these machines provide an opportunity for students and community members to physically engage in the energy conversion process as well as promote energy and environment education outside of the classroom.

At the Rec Cen’s Fun and Fitness Festival we debuted the bicycles, and the promotional campaign, Power Your Campus, focused on energy education and conservation. Local businesses and campus organizations supported the campaign by providing coupons, gift cards and give-aways as a student participation incentive.

During the Festival students converted their kinetic energy into electricity, and on a temporary monitor display were able to see how many watts were produced, electricity costs saved, and emissions mitigated. At the same time, these students learned from permanent educational placards with graphs, statistics and suggestions on energy conservation.

The bicycles remain in the front of the Recreation Center for all UCSB community members to engage in and learn from.

Rating of Project Success:

The original goal of the proposal to purchase energy converting exercise machines and utilize the platform to promote energy and environment education was achieved. The only change to the proposal was the amount and type of machines.

The project exceeded my expectations as I collaborated with other students, businesses, organizations and departments to create a campaign and an event to promote the bicycles.

Pitfalls:

Transferring the funds from TGIF to the correct account proved to be more complicated than predicted.

Final Project Budget:

Item / Vendor / Cost
5 Viscycle Bikes / Re:Source Fitness / $5500
Flyers and educational placards / FedEx / $37.19
Final Poster / FedEx / $50
Total / $5587.19

Summary:

The project drastically evolved from the grant application to implementation. Though it ended up being very time-consuming to organize an event and a campaign to promote the bicycles it enhanced the whole effectiveness of the project. The overall experience was extremely rewarding. Now the bicycles and educational materials are left to constantly advocate for the environment and the importance of energy conservation and renewable energy.