The Energy Groove: using the power of dance to create electricity

That was the goal for Temple Nightclub’s founder Paul Hemming. The San Francisco-based club opened its doors in 2007 with the vision of becoming the greenest night club in the world. Last June it launched its Sustainable Dance Floor.

Paul partnered up with a company called Energy Floors, who had earlier developed the technology and launched what was then the world's first generating dance-floor at Rotterdams' Club Watt it in 2008.

The kinetic energy produced by the dancers is converted into electricity via a spring system located under the floor which then powers the dance floor’s eye catching LED lights which react to touch, therefore immersing the party-goers in an interactive dance experience. The LEDs can also be customized to suit various different events.

Any left-over electricity is fed back into the grid for use by other applications, or to power other customized local systems. Each 75x75x20cm module can produce up to 35 watts of sustained output, or between 5-20 Watts per person. Indeed, the company has recently relaunched, with the aim of extending the energy producing floor to other contexts such as public transport, schools, gyms, museums, and anywhere else that feet hit floors.

In 2012, Energy Floor projects around the world attracted some 950,000 visitors, who combined to produce an amazing 2 billion joules of energy between them!

By adding an Energy Floor to a dance club or exercise class, the forgotten energy from the simple, fun act of taking steps is captured, helping to reduce carbon emissions with dance.