Builders Warehouse has unveiled its first store powered by renewable energy.
According to the DIY and home improvement products company, the North Riding, Johannesburg store is its first to make use of renewable energy.
In line with parent company Massmart's ongoing aim to reduce its environmental footprint, Builders Warehouse is the third Massmart store with renewable energy, following Makro Carnival and Makro Woodmead, which installed solar plants capable of generating approximately 2 million kWh of electricity a year.
The store has a 126 kilowatt peak plant which consists of 400 roof-mounted polycrystalline photovoltaics (PV) panels. The plant will provide approximately 70% of the store's daytime energy requirements and 16% of the store's total annual energy consumption, adds the company.
Massmart Group sustainability manager Alex Haw says: "An interesting feature of the Builders plant is that it is 'grid interactive' - meaning the solar PV system will provide power in conjunction with the City Power supply. During power outages, it will continue to produce power and synchronise with the diesel generators on the site-maximising efficiency and minimising costs."
To further minimise the store's impact on the environment, Builders says it has added other green technologies to reduce overall water and energy consumption. These include installing daylight harvesting, lighting controllers, energy efficient lighting, evaporative cooling systems and rainwater harvesting tanks.
Although these changes don't impact the customer experience directly, they assist in lowering the company's greenhouse gas emissions, which benefits the environment at large, adds Haw.
"Builders North Riding store has a daylight harvesting system that reduces its electrical lighting requirements. Other energy-saving technologies include 100% light-emitting diode lights throughout the store and motion sensors in the offices and storage rooms that automatically switch lights on and off," concludes Haw.
Share