Energy generation gets a dose of cool

Energy innovations can be found in the strangest of places.  Even at Da Club.

Anyone who’s even been in the groove (or whatever the kids are saying these days) on the dance floor has probably felt it. The feeling that you could dance all night long. That you had energy to burn. 

Energy to burn? Why should it go to waste?

That’s the thinking behind the funky energy-generating dance floor. It works by converting the kinetic energy of dance into electricity. The design principle is quite simple. The dance floor is made to ‘bounce’ under the always moving and grooving weight of the dancers. Underneath, the floor is hooked up to power-generating blocks that convert the kinetic energy into electricity, which is fed into batteries.

The batteries are (more or less) constantly charged. The idea is the energy generated is then used to power parts of the nightclub. Perhaps generating enough energy to offset club lighting or power an extra disco ball. They still make those, right?

Sound futuristic?   An energy-generating dance floor was debuted in 2006 at the aptly-named Sustainable Dance Club in Rotterdam.  It’s a club that thinks big about sustainability. They envision toilets that flush with rain water, walls that change colour in reaction to temperature changes, a rooftop garden, “biological beer,” and other elements that combine to create a sustainable clubbing environment.  

Groovy.