What if you could capture the energy from the dance floor?
It was an unconventional idea, conceived and brought to life by two Scottish business leaders from completely different industries.
The result is Bodyheat, a heating and cooling system that captures the heat generated by patrons of the iconic SWG3 venue in Glasgow, Scotland, then stores it underground until it is needed for reuse.
Geologist and TownRock Energy chief executive David Townsend was first introduced to multidisciplinary venue SWG3 owner Andrew Fleming-Brown in 2019.
“If you have 1,200 people dancing and you capture the heat from the people dancing, you can heat about 70 houses,” Townsend told CNBC’s “CONVERGE.” “So, that’s pretty significant.”
The total cost of the project is £600,000 ($825,000), a third of which is funded by the venue itself. While this is approximately 10 times the cost of a traditional heating system, SWG3 expects Bodyheat to pay for itself within five years through energy savings.
“We were doing a huge capital investment anyway, totaling about £5 million ($6.9 million), so we were raising a lot of money,” said venue managing director Fleming Brown.
Heating accounts for half of the world’s energy consumption, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Demand is slightly lower in the UK, where the event is held, with heat accounting for a third of the country’s energy needs and 17% of carbon emissions.
“Geothermal heating and cooling systems are very resilient to climate change because the ground is not affected by climate change,” Townsend said.
Since the first such innovation, Townsend and his company have been busy developing sustainable solutions for other businesses, which have already attracted interest from data centers and major European music festivals.
“A body-heating type system at the festival, where we capture heat from one tent and heat another tent. I don’t want to say too much about that because it’s still in the early stages,” Townsend said.
As for the unlikely duo, they’re currently considering expanding the Bodyheat system to a new Fleming-Brown hotel that’s about to open.
“As a result, the hotel’s operating costs will look healthier and the system here will be better balanced,” Fleming-Brown said.
Watch the video above for a closer look at the Bodyheat system and other skill-sharing that can happen when two business leaders come together.
