What Should Wake Forest University Do?
Based on all the information presented above, it can be seen that there are pros and cons to both solutions for making the gym more energy efficient. While the most energy efficient solution would be to utilize both options, it is not a practical solution due to financial limitations. However, each of these solutions alone can help reduce the energy use an immense amount. After weighing all the categories of price, payoff, and energy savings, there is a clear solution that is the best. In comparison to price, a ReRev system is one-third the price of the treadmill system. However, the payoff of these systems is completely different. It was seen above that a ReRev system will pay for itself in a little more than seventy-one years, but a treadmill system will pay off in just over twenty-two years. That means that even though the treadmill system costs more initially, it pays for itself forty-nine years before the ReRev system would. This drastic difference in payoff is due to the energy savings the different systems provide. While both of the systems do not help cover the cost of energy for the lights, televisions, fans, and stair masters in the gym, they both help with the treadmill energy savings. However, the ReRev system does not produce nearly the amount of energy that the new treadmill system would save. ReRev would only save the gym around one-hundred kilowatt hours a week, while the treadmill system would save the gym around eight-hundred and six kilowatt hours a week. The treadmill system reduces energy usage roughly eight times that of the ReRev system. Based on these comparisons, as long as the school is willing to invest a large sum of money, the EcoMill treadmill system is the best. It is the most energy efficient solution because it saves the most energy. In addition, it is the most cost-effective because it pays for itself the quickest.
The chart that follows shows exact comparisons of the two systems.