German Clubbers To Generate Electricity On The Dance Floor

Dance floor that can generate electricity

Hitting the news recently on the dance music scene is a story about how some Berlin nightclubs may soon have dance floors installed that can generate electricity when clubbers dance on them.

The quirky sustainable dance floor invention will certainly have the approval of Berlin's local government, which goes out of its way to help nightclubs in order to benefit the local economy. Berlin has a thriving nightlife scene and is a mecca for dance-music lovers around the globe, so much so, that local authorities have already pledged 1 million Euros to help local nightclubs improve soundproofing for the benefit of local residents.

How does the dance floor work?

The electricity is generated by the up and down movement of dancers using the dance floor, which is divided up into individual floor panels that measure 65x65x30cm each. Each panel moves up and down very slightly when someone is dancing on it. This up and down motion is then converted into cyclic energy to drive a motor which generates the electricity. Each modular dance floor panel can generate an estimated 25 watts of energy which can then be used to power the DJ booth and the club's lighting. With the super efficient low consumption LED bulbs that are now widely used today, a club full of revellers could certainly generate plenty of electricity to light many bulbs.

The sustainable dance floor is the brainchild of Dutch inventor Daan Roosegaarde, who already has his product installed and generating electricity at the aptly named Club Watt in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Surprisingly, this isn't a recent invention; amongst other newspapers, the New York Times ran with the story way back in 2008. The paper mentions that along with its eco-dance floor, Club Watt also boasts rainwater-fed toilets and low-waste bars where it's claimed that everything gets recycled. It also uses the heat generated by the club's sound equipment (such as high powered music amps) to provide heat to the rest of the club.

Does it make a difference to global sustainability?

Whilst this idea is somewhat of a gimmick and is certainly a good story to report, electricity producing dance floors aren't really going to have much of an impact on the problems the world currently faces, even if the club is playing house music all night long!. However, stories like this one do help to keep the idea of a 'renewable energy world' fresh in the public's mind and help steer our consciousness in the direction of living greener, more sustainable lives.

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We're Expert Skip Hire, Sussex' premier waste management company and we love writing stories about innovations that can help lead to a better world for future generations - We're also pretty good movers and shakers on the dancefloor too! :) 

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