Power from the people

A Danish hotel seems to have come up with a solution to two of the modern world's biggest challenges: generating clean electricity and fighting obesity. According to Reuters, guests at Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers can help power the building by jumping on one of the electricity-generating exercise bikes in the hotel's gym. Rather ruining the weight-loss possibilities, a free meal in the restaurant is on offer to anyone who cycles a certain distance.

That aside, we like this idea. Similar to the MO of Steve Miller from Sky 1's Fat Families who wires up his victims' TVs to exercise equipment so they can only watch Jeremy Kyle while working up a sweat: if they stop for a breather, the TV goes off. I'd certainly like one of these devices in my living room. And with the amount of rubbish telly I watch I'd probably produce enough surplus electricity to power the whole street (and have thighs of steel as an added bonus).

The winning product at ecobuild's innovation zone this year was paving slabs that generate energy from the pressure of being walked on, so maybe we are cottoning on to the fact that getting off the sofa and moving might be good for more than just our waistlines.

What's green worth?

A Seattle-based development company has released a report showing that properties with green features go for a higher price than standard homes. The GreenWorks Realty study looked at properties sold in King County from November 2009 to February 2010 and states that environmentally certfied homes sold for $85,550 more per home, despite being 9.8% smaller in size.

Great news for the sustainable construction industry in King County, Seattle, but the UK market is unlikely to tell the same story. Research carried out by Savills back in 2007 certainly didn't give sustainability a ringing endorsement when it comes to adding to a home's value, finding that few households were prepared to pay more for measures that reduce environmental impact.

Things have moved on since then, with rising energy prices and the economic climate making consumers more aware of what they actually, well, consume. But there isn't much recent research (that I could find) into what the great British public thinks about green homes in this post-credit crunch period. We'll have to wait to see if housebuyers are willing to dig that little bit deeper for a zero-carbon home that will save them money in the long-term. Seeing our homes as long-term places to live rather than short-term investments to make a quick buck is a very new situation.

A RICS report issued a few months ago about the commercial market also highlighted the need for further research into the value of sustainability. The catchily titled Sustainable Property: Is Sustainability Reflected In Commercial Property Prices: A Review Of Existing Evidence? concluded that there is a lack of data to see if sustainable buildings do or don't command a premium price. Where America goes we do usually follow, and recognising that sustainability is a benefit to property is surely just a matter of time.