November 20, 2006—After one year of operating two “experimental stores” in Colorado and Texas, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is sold on at least one energy technology: LED lights.
The company has already concluded that the solid-state lights, which use light-emitting diodes (LEDs), “use less electricity, contribute less heat, and have a longer lifespan” than traditional lights.
Although Wal-Mart has already been using LEDs for all its building-mounted exterior lit signs for the last two years, the company has now decided to integrate these lights into freezer cases in new Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores nationwide, beginning in January 2007. The benefits of LEDs are multiplied in freezer cases, where heat generated by lighting adds to the load on the freezers. Replacing freezer lights can also be a difficult and energy-consuming task, so the LEDs’ longevity is also a benefit.
The company is much less certain about its wind turbines, which have suffered from mechanical problems. However, Wal-Mart hopes to correct the problems and will “continue with the plan to provide these and eventually other stores with renewable power.” Wal-Mart is evaluating its two experimental stores for three years with help from DOE: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is monitoring the Aurora, Colorado, store, while the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is monitoring the store in McKinney, Texas.
For more information, visit Wal-Mart’s Web site.
