Net-Zero Mart? Big-Box Design Guide Offers 50% Energy Savings

This Target entrance utilizes vestibule glass and daylight sensors to maximize daylighting of the entrance area.

By Erin Weaver

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the third in its series of guides for 50% energy reduction in commercial and public buildings toward the goal of net-zero energy use. The “Advanced Energy Design Guide for Medium to Big Box Retail Buildings” is aimed at designers, contractors, and facility managers in the retail sector.

Compared to the 2004 building energy code used in much of the country, the new guide is intended to help retail building owners achieve a 50% reduction in energy use in new construction or through deep energy retrofits “without having to resort to detailed calculations or analysis.” Divided into sections addressing numerous aspects of design and renovation—from energy modeling and benchmarking to the specifics of daylighting, plug loads, HVAC, and parking-lot lighting—the guide gives detailed recommendations based on a building’s climate zone and includes case studies and relevant ASHRAE standards for recommended installations.

The guide is available for free download at www.ashrae.org.

February 1, 2012

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RELATED CASE STUDIES

	Aurora Experimental Wal-Mart (210,000 sq. feet) (19,000 sq. meters) Retail
	TD Bank - Cypress Creek Store (4,000 sq. feet) (370 sq. meters) Retail

Aurora Experimental Wal-Mart

The Aurora Wal-Mart store is a single-story structure equivalent to about four football fields in size. It offers a full line of groceries, bakery goods, deli foods, meat and dairy products, fresh produce, liquor, apparel and accessories, jewelry, a lawn and garden center, health and beauty aids, and a full line of electronics. It also houses a Tire Lube & Express, vision center, Subway restaurant, Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza, portrait studio, one-hour photo lab, pharmacy with two drive-up lanes, hair salon, Academy Bank branch and Wal-Mart Connect Center. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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RELATED CATEGORIES

GREEN TOPICS

Green Business Practices

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IMAGE CREDITS:
1. Photo: Dennis Schroeder

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Zero-Energy Buildings Attainable Across Climates, Researchers Say
EBN: What's Happening - April 2012