Club uses body heat from its guests for sustainable energy supply

Energy prices are currently making many cultural institutions and clubs sweat. But when it comes to Switzerland and warmth, a Scottish cultural center is now coming up with an innovative solution. Because the club wants to use the body heat of dancers as a source of renewable energy.

Proximity is one of nature’s oldest examples of how humans and animals use their body heat for their own benefit. About 100 watts of power meanwhile, the human body produces in retirement. When moving, it can even generate around 400 watts. With this, even an outdoor LED floodlight could run for about 24 hours.

Body heat: Club wants to generate sustainable energy

The cultural center is also located right there SWG3 from Glasgow, Scotland on. Because every year about 250,000 people stream through the venue, like the club on its site writes. They all need light, warmth and sound.

We want to keep dancing, keep working, keep creating, keep inspiring – but we also want to do it in a responsible, innovative way. That’s why, over the past year, we’ve taken steps to measure our carbon emissions and understand our impact.

The cultural center wants to radically reduce its emissions to zero by 2025. If possible even earlier.

Zero CO2 with body heat

In order to achieve this, the SWG3 has considered various strategies. One of them is called “Body Heat”. The principle is relatively simple: the body heat generated by the dancing club and concert visitors should be converted into a reusable energy source.

The heat from the dancers is conducted via a carrier fluid into 200 meter long boreholes, which can be charged like a heat battery. The energy then flows back to heat pumps, is brought to a suitable temperature and returned to the cultural center.

The club’s gas boiler could be switched off completely, which would reduce CO2 emissions by around 70 tons per year.

Dancing people can generate up to 600 watts of energy

The geothermal consulting company is behind the project TownRock Energy. Founder David Townsend explains to the BBCthat a person dancing to the Rolling Stones generates about 250 watts of energy.

But if you have a big DJ making everyone jump with his basslines, you can generate 500-600 watts of thermal energy.

Installing the system is a big step for the Scottish cultural center – especially in financial terms. So far, the SWG3 has invested three years of construction and almost 600,000 British pounds in the “Bodyheat” system. The Scottish Government is also subsidizing the project with a number of grants.

All in all, it was a leap of faith, explains Managing Director Andrew Fleming-Brown. However, the company has committed to achieving “net zero” carbon emissions by 2025. And someone has to make the initial investment, but hopefully it will pay off over time.

Body heat project may also come to Berlin

If the concept is successful in the Scottish concert hall, “Bodyheat” could also be transferred to other venues, according to Fleming-Brown. And not just in Scotland, but across Europe and beyond.

In Berlin, the operators of “SchwuZ” are already considering the innovative solution. TownRock Energy is already in the conversation with the Neuköllner Queerclub. And although there are no concrete plans for implementation yet, it would at least be a glimmer of hope on the energy crisis horizon. A first meeting should take place in October 2022.

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