By George Anderson
In what it calls a response to "the government's call to conserve energy," The Home Depot has announced voluntary measures it plans to take to reduce energy consumption in its stores while providing increased education on what consumers can do to reduce the resources they use.
"As we help empower consumers to reduce their energy costs through products and services, we also believe it is right for us to reduce our company's own consumption and help contribute to the country's energy conservation efforts at this time," said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president & CEO of The Home Depot in a released statement.
The DIY chain has said it plans on reducing the use of ceiling lights in stores that have skylights and it also intends to cut back by five hours a day on illuminating lighting displays.
By taking these steps alone, The Home Depot said it will save enough energy "to power 17,400 homes per month."
The actions being taken within the chain's stores in the U.S. and Canada are in addition to previous efforts, including retrofitting stores with T5 fluorescent lighting, converting to LED store signs and using low-watt bulbs in lighting displays. Home Depot has also made changes in the design and construction of new stores since 2003 that the company claims has achieved an average energy savings of 34 percent per store over previously constructed units.
In addition to its own conservation measures, Home Depot plans to offer further education on saving energy to its shoppers. At 2 p.m. on every Sunday in September, stores will demonstrate how consumers can save money on energy bills.
Consumers can also go online at www.homedepot.com/energy for a free home energy-efficiency audit to see where they may need to make changes in their homes.
Moderator's Comment: Discuss the energy conservation selling opportunity. What do you think of The Home Depot's strategy emphasizing its own efforts and its ability to assist customers looking to reduce their energy consumption? - George Anderson - Moderator