Energy Management Strategy For Gyms
Before we look at why you should implement an energy management strategy, let’s see the usage of some popular energy-generating equipment.
Generally, larger machines like ellipticals and treadmills have higher energy usage than smaller equipment, like a stationary bike or weight machine.
Here are some basic guidelines for energy usage of gym equipment:
- Stationary bikes: 150-250 watts per hour
- Elliptical machines: 500-700 watts per hour
- Stair climbers: 500-600 watts per hour
- Treadmills: 600-700 watts per hour
If a gym has other facilities, such as a swimming pool or sauna, energy utilisation can go up dramatically. A few examples of estimates include:
- Hot tub: 1,500-6,000 watts per hour
- Tanning bed: 1,000-1,500 watts per hour
- Sauna: 5,000-6,000 watts per hour
- Olympic size swimming pool: 15,000-25,000 watts per hour
Please note: these are estimates and usage will depend on the equipment’s age and size.
Taking the bottom end of the consumption values and adding them together illustrates how fast energy consumption can go from reasonable to excessive.
For example, let’s say a gym has ten of each machine above:
- Stationary bikes: 1,500 watts per hour
- Elliptical machines: 5,000 watts per hour
- Stair climbers: 5,000 watts per hour
- Treadmills: 6,000 watts per hour
That would give us a total of 17,500 watts per hour, for just the energy consumption of equipment. If we take a standard 34p per kWh for a medium-sized business, running those machines alone will cost £59.50 per hour.
This gives us a clear picture of why energy management strategies are a must for gyms. Small or medium fitness centres should also consider a business energy comparison.
Exercise machines won’t run all day every day, of course, but peak hours always attract crowds of fitness enthusiasts.
These estimates are based solely on gym equipment – without taking into account lighting, hairdryers, or anything else that needs to generate electricity.