They can't shut off the dairy case, and they're loath to dim all the security lights, but retailers nonetheless are trying to cut their electricity use. At Gottschalks at the Vintage Faire Mall, the main interior lights remain on, but the track lighting that accents some merchandise is off. The overhead lights are efficient fluorescent fixtures, but the track lighting is relatively wasteful incandescent bulbs, operations manager Linda Anderson said. Save Mart supermarkets have reduced their lighting 15 percent to 25 percent, said Ray Agah, director of engineering at the chain's Modesto headquarters.
Some customers gripe about it.
Grocery stores use plenty of energy to keep the frozen food frozen, as well as to keep meat and dairy products from spoiling. But the stores overall are efficient, he said, because the waste heat from the refrigeration machinery is captured to provide most of the space heating in winter. In effect, the coolers are keeping shoppers warm. Agah said the water for cleanup at the stores also is warmed by waste heat from refrigeration machinery. The Save Mart corporate office on Standiford Avenue has cut office lighting 50 percent and has snuffed the lights completely in hallways with skylights, he said.