Saving Energy Is As Easy As Closing The Door!!
I know that I usually provide updates on the happenings around the country relating to legal and regulatory policy issues. But, an experience that I had this weekend really had me thinking and I wanted to share this with you....
This weekend in Connecticut, the weather was finally warming up. Saturday reached 85 with dew points in the 70s. Yeah, it was humid!! For those of my friends in the Southeast, you are probably used to this, but up here we have had a really wet and cool summer so far.
Since it was a nice day, my wife and I decided to head over to the Evergreen Walk in South Windsor, Connecticut. For those unfamiliar with Connecticut retail, Evergreen Walk is a "Lifestyle Center." It is a fairly high end outdoor retail complex. As we are walking around, I noticed a cool breeze hit the back of my neck. What could that be? I turn around and one of the retailers (to remain nameless) has its doors wide open!! We walk a little further, and another one does and another and another!! The air conditioning is blasting and the doors are open to 85 degree heat!!
When I mentioned this to my wife, she gave me the "shoppers" view of the world. First, the doors are really heavy. Anyone with a stroller or a young child would have trouble opening the doors. So, better to leave them open. Second, the open doors shows you where the stores are that have not been a victim of the recession (there are quite a few empty storefronts).
This got me to thinking about the retail industry's response. Would it be that hard to install automatic doors? Wouldn't that actually be an improvement for not only shoppers with strollers, but shoppers with alot of shopping bags!! Second, I would bet that a sign outside of a store indicating that it is open for business would be paid for fairly quickly by the savings in energy costs.
Bottom line, CLOSE THE DOOR!! You would not air condition the outside of your house, don't air condition the outside of your store!!
