Best Buy Decides That All Future Stores Will Be Eco-Friendly
Deciding that "Hey, all this green building actually saves us money!" massive media chain Best Buy will only be constructing eco-friendly stores starting in early 2008. The shift in construction methods — according to the United States Green Building Council — will save the corporation almost one-third in energy costs. Over time, that’s big bucks, considering how large Best Buy’s outlets are. From the article,
"The Best Buy prototype will have some combination of energy-efficient lighting, rainwater recycling, recycled or otherwise eco-friendly building materials, a high-efficiency HVAC system and some type of day-lighting system."
One of the technologies most likely under consideration for the day-lighting system is something called "Hybrid Solar Lighting". This tech — somewhat related to how the Egyptians used to light the inside of their massive structures — uses mirrors to direct light through optical fibres connected to specially adapted bulbs. If it gets cloudy outside, the sensors automatically adjust internal standard lighting conditions appropriately. Using such systems can save a store like Best Buy more than 8,000 kilowatt hours a year in heating and cooling costs. According to some studies, such natural lighting conditions are also good for your health.
Anyways, this move by Best Buy is encouraging since of the more than 800 LEED certified projects out there, only 50 are retail. If BB can take the first step in committing to sustainable building, hopefully the other big box stores will not be far behind. Stay tuned.
via Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal
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Tags: best buy, chain store, consumer, green, Green Building, hybrid lighting, solar, sustainable
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August 22nd, 2007 at 10:01 pm
They should put active solar on all roofs as well. This would cut down on energy usage and reduce their footprint. Distributed generation is currently the best way to reduce reliance on fossil fuel power generation without the need for new infrastructure and increased land use. Walmart is already looking into Solar on their rooftops. They also are using motion sensitive LED lighting and solar tubes for natural lighting in their new stores to cut costs.
Probably the best thing that Best Buy could do though is to install timers on many of the televisions, stereos, and other entertainment components that are powered on in the stores 24 hours a day. Turn them off when people aren’t looking for a particular item and turn them off when the store is closed.