Posted
November 23, 2007
Retailers Told to Light Up-in an Eco-Friendly Way
Wal-Mart and Bill Clinton want to shine a light
on better ways to illuminate a store. It’s part of a wave to find more–environmentally
friendly ways of lighting up a space. By 2009, tighter energy efficiency
also might become law in California.
On Nov. 1, Wal-Mart announced at a meeting of U.S.
mayors in Seattle that it would partner with the former president’s
Clinton Climate Initiative to help identify green technologies and
to bring down the
price of eco-friendly products such as energy-efficient building materials
and lighting systems.
Currently, efficient lighting can be expensive.
LED bulbs and strip lights can cost $60 to $100, compared with the
$1 to $34 cost for incandescent
lamps, according to Jordon Papanier, a spokesperson for Torrance, Calif.–based
Ledtronics, a leading producer of LED lights. Yet, Papanier said LED
lights have a longer life than an average bulb and can offer 70 percent
to 80 percent energy savings.
In Sacramento, Calif., state lawmakers are revising
California’s
energy-efficiency standards for residential and nonresidential buildings.
The law’s Title 24 Part 6 section might make energy efficiency
a requirement for new and retrofitted buildings. It should take effect
by 2009, and it means that buildings finishing construction and those
buildings being remodeled must use an even more energy-efficient lighting
system than those required today.
The California law does not tell retailers what sort of brands of lighting
to install in their new or remodeled buildings. However, lighting consultant
Kathleen Peake said retailers often use LED lights for their outdoor
or sign lighting.
Some retailers have converted their already-efficient T-8 and electronic-ballast
lighting systems into second- generation T-8 and electronic-ballast lighting
systems, which can cut energy bills by an extra 20 percent, Peake said.
Fashion boutiques often use halogen infrared reflecting
lamps for accent lighting with an energy-efficient touch. Peake is
president of The Lighting
Collaborative Inc., a Tustin, Calif.–based lighting education group
and a consultant for Southern California Edison.
The energy savings could be an important point for retailers. According
to Minnesota-based consultants The Design Group, a typical retailer can
spend up to $300,000 on lighting bills, which may be 10 percent of typical
construction costs.
Many retailers have begun to look to natural light to expand their energy
efficiency. Buildings at The Lab and The Camp specialty shopping centers
in Costa Mesa, Calif., were designed to emphasize windows so the retailers
could make extra use of natural sunlight to illuminate their stores.
The Road Less Traveled store in Santa Ana, Calif., uses
a system from Vista, Calif.–based Solatube International Inc. It
captures sunlight from a building’s roof and redirects the light
down a reflective shaft to the store. The Road owner Delilah Snell said
the Solatube Daylighting System has allowed her to rely more on daylight
than electricity. The retail price for the system starts at $300, according
to a Solatube representative.
Link to: ApperalNews.net
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