Stores too cheap to turn the lights on

[drothgery]

What I would love to see is these box stores throw up solar panels on their roofs. It's not being used for anything else, and might actually save some money, especially now that solar power is starting to mature.

It's still not really cost effective even in SoCal (where it's almost always sunny, today notwithstanding) despite government bribery.

 

[Pbartender]

What I would love to see is these box stores throw up solar panels on their roofs. It's not being used for anything else, and might actually save some money, especially now that solar power is starting to mature.

Costco stores use big skylights and then keep the overhead lights completely turned off during daylight hours. It works great, except on the gloomiest, stormiest days.

I'm always surprised more big box and warehouse type stores don't do it.

EDIT: It turns out, on further investigation, that the Costco's overhead lights use photo-sensors up inside the skylights to automatically turn the lights on or off, when the light through the skylights gets too dim or bright enough, respectively. According to a study done by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company in 1999, the average Costco store will save about $23,000 a year using the system, and a typical Costco distribution center will save $150,000 a year... Just based on the number of Costco stores worldwide, that's a total of about $13 million a year saved in energy costs (in 1999 energy costs, to boot).