Read the full story at ENN. (link via- By Laura B. on Solar Energy)
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, first tried out its bright idea — skylights — at a store in Oklahoma.
The “early experiment” was in 1995, when the roof of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Moore was dotted with skylights. At the same time, skylights were being added to a roof at a Wal-Mart in City of Industry, Calif., said Charles Zimmerman, Wal-Mart’s vice president of prototype and new format development.
The skylights worked, paying dividends in natural light and lower energy costs.
Almost every Wal-Mart built since then — more than 2,000 Wal-Marts, Supercenters and Sam’s Clubs stores — has been constructed with skylights, Zimmerman said.
The skylights are connected to fluorescent lights, which automatically dim or turn off as the natural light becomes brighter.