‘Green’ trials and (some) errors
A year after opening its Colorado and Texas experimental “green” stores, Wal-Mart has deemed some of its tests smashing successes that save money and energy: low-energy freezer lights, new refrigerator doors and water-misting climate control.
Not all of its experiments turned out so well.
Water-ferrying pipes that heat and cool floors worked great last winter to reduce climate-control costs.
But when summer rolled around, workers couldn’t shut off the pipes in the open-air garden center, which meant that Wal-Mart was air-conditioning part of the parking lot.
The giant wind turbine powering the large Wal-Mart sign out front of the Colorado store was prone to short circuits, rendering it useless at least part of the time.
“We’re learning as we go,” said Don Moseley, the project engineer for the two stores.
Some of the tests of solar power also were less than stellar.
Electric meters in the Texas store’s solar installation gave false readings.
Some of the skylights at the Colorado store work only a few months out of the year. Unless the sun is directly overhead -- basically just during summer -- some areas of the store seem dark.
Motorized mirrors placed on the roof are supposed to automatically point toward the sun and reflect light into the skylights, a technology tested in a City of Industry Wal-Mart store in 1995.
But on a recent afternoon, many of the mirrors were pointing in different directions.
Outside walkways made of recycled rubber at the Texas store warped and faded in the hot sun.
Said Andy Ruben, the executive in charge of Wal-Mart’s environmental program: “If every experiment works, I’d say it probably isn’t a good lab.”
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