Energy-conscious riled by stores that leave doors open and A/C on
By Leslie Tamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 31, 2010; 1:27 PM
Christopher Moline was spending a sweltering afternoon with his son Nicholas at the Bowie Town Center mall when he noticed that the doors of Rave clothing store were wide open.
The cold air rushing from the store was refreshing, but it also made his temperature rise as he thought of all the wasted energy.
"I don't know about most folks," said the 42-year-old Bowie man, "but my father always told me to close the door so we wouldn't be heating or cooling the outdoors."
Leaving the doors open while running the air conditioner can increase electricity use by 20 to 25 percent, according to one power company's estimate. The amount wasted depends on location, weather and humidity.
"The equipment is working extra hard to condition a space that'll never be conditioned," said Sarah O'Connell, energy outreach coordinator of the Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions. "Businesses are paying extra to condition the outdoor air."
Moline made videos of the wide-open doors throughout the mall and posted them on YouTube. With his camera phone, he taped his conversations with managers, who often claimed that it was the store's general practice to keep their doors open. Open doors made it easier for parents with strollers to get inside, one associate said.
When Moline revisited the mall a few days later, one of the shops he had visited had a broken air conditioner.
"That is not a coincidence, man," said the former Marine, who said the broken system was probably a result of the store overworking it earlier in the week. In addition to being a father of three, a husband and a small-business owner, Moline has trained to be a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Accredited Professional so he can recommend and implement green-building practices in commercial interiors.
"I'm not a sandals-and-granola guy," Moline added. His interests are primarily clean air and energy independence, he said.
In New York, retailers who drain the grid by air conditioning city sidewalks can be fined. Moline and others would like to see a similar policy in the Washington area, or at least a public awareness campaign.
"We need to . . . get the word out: A closed door is a good thing," said Joan Kelsch, Arlington County's green buildings program manager.
The county's Environment and Energy Conservation Commission discussed the issue during a public meeting Monday.
"It is a pet peeve of mine," Bob Coyne, 50, a biologist from Arlington, told the commission. "It's a terrible and unnecessary waste of energy when air streams out into the street."
The commission decided to write to the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and to the county, advising them to start outreach campaigns and include closed doors as a criterion in future county recognitions of energy-efficient retailers.
"We can't fine them as of now," Kelsch said, "but we can encourage, incentivize, educate."
When Kelsch sees "irksome" open-door retailers, she goes inside and tells owners and consumers about the wasted energy.
"The more electricity we use, the more coal we have to burn, and that creates a lot of air pollution," Kelsch said.
On a recent afternoon, a walk down M Street in Georgetown was a mix of tropical heat and cool breezes flowing past doors held open by wooden yoga blocks, door-mounted doorstops, traditional rubber wedges and decorative rocks.
"Unless it's raining or snowing, we keep the doors open," said John Zittrauer, supervisor at the Lacoste apparel store. "It's just more inviting."
Uyanga Bold, working at the Sisley clothing store, said, "It lets people know we're open."
The scent of minty watermelons filtered through the open doors of Lush. The cosmetics company touts biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging, and according to Shama Alexander, environmental officer for the company's North American operations, it has considering installing on-site industrial compost systems in its stores and upgrading to more efficient energy and water systems.
Still, she said, "The issue of closing the doors has been a highly debated topic."
Lush products can melt, so managers decide how to control store temperatures, Alexander explained. But an open door is also a good invitation to shoppers, she added, directly affecting store traffic.
Ryan Wolfe, general manager of the Thunder Burger & Bar, agreed. "It's just a marketing blast of cool air," he said. At the climate-controlled restaurant, anything that could open was open to M Street: the wooden front door, the shutters, the windows.
Kelsch suggests that instead, stores simply post signs advertising their cool air.
Having two sets of doors -- one set that opens to a vestibule, and another that opens to the outdoors-- is another option, said Christopher Conway, an energy auditor and president of Conway Green Construction, based in Bristol, Va. Keeping the front set of doors open and the second set of doors closed helps the store look open and inviting.
Lululemon Athletica in Georgetown has two sets of double doors. "We get the best of both worlds: Save the Earth and get people inside," said Wendy Christensen, assistant manager of the yoga-inspired athletic lifestyle store.
But last week, as temperatures climbed past 90, both sets of doors were open wide.
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