Local Wal-Mart retrofitted with energy-efficient lights

City and county officials including Springfield City Councilman Dan Chiles – a sustainability proponent – and Greene County Presiding Commissioner David Coonrod were on hand this morning as the Campbell Avenue store began converting its refrigerated case lighting.

“It is exciting to see our community Wal-Mart continue to make improvements that help the environment and use less energy,” Chiles said in a news release. “I encourage other retailers in the community to make similar changes that sustain the environment.”

LED systems save 40 percent of lighting energy over fluorescent lights in a five-door refrigerated case, according to the release. They also are environmentally friendly in that they contain no glass, lead or mercury. LED light bars have longer life spans, can be recycled and are more resistant to vibrations from slamming doors or knocks.

The change could save as much as 3 percent on a store’s total electric bill, according to the release. The conversion is part of Wal-Mart’s overall effort to achieve sustainability and reduce energy usage at existing and future stores.

Wal-Mart’s new Sam’s Club slated to open at James River Freeway and Campbell in 2009 is said to include sustainable elements, such as LED lighting, motion-sensor lighting on freezers and coolers, more than 200 skylights and an improved daylight-harvesting system, a closed-loop CO2 secondary refrigeration system in freezer cases and a closed-loop secondary glycol system in chilled sections, a water-reclaiming system at the carwash, and recycling services for tires, batteries, cardboard, single-use cameras, food waste, plastic waste and building materials.