3M™ Daylight Redirecting Window Film lights up Walgreens "net-zero" store, while cutting glare and saving energy
By all accounts, Charles Walgreen was a genuine visionary. Beginning in 1901, he revolutionized the way drugstores did business—with innovations in home delivery, in–store soda fountains and even the use of radio as an advertising medium. Today Walgreens is the nation's largest drugstore chain with more than 8,000 stores and $72 billion in sales.
But for all his imagination and foresight, it seems unlikely that Charles Walgreen could have envisioned what his company did in 2013 in Evanston, Illinois. There—with the help of 3M innovation—it opened a first-of-its-kind drugstore designed to produce more energy than it consumes.
Called a "net–zero" store, this facility generates electricity with solar panels, two wind turbines and a geothermal system. But the company also wanted to maximize natural light and reduce dependence on electricity. Since lighting accounts for nearly 40 percent of the electricity used in commercial buildings in the United States, achieving a "net–zero" facility typically requires a dedicated lighting strategy.
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REDUCING GLARE, INCREASING NATURAL LIGHT
"Walgreens was searching for a cost–effective, low-maintenance solution to reduce visible glare, extend our daylight zone and fit with the overall design of our first net–zero project," says Jason Robbins, Walgreens' Manager of Mechanical Engineering. "3M's Daylight Redirecting window film was the perfect fit for our 4,000 square feet of west-facing curtain wall."
Window films are used in retail locations around the world to reduce glare and heat and improve glass security. 3M Daylight Redirecting window film increases the natural light within a building by redirecting as much as 80 percent of the window light up onto the ceiling, helping to light the room as deep as 40 feet from the window. Several studies have linked improved natural lighting to increased productivity and purchasing behavior, as well as less need for electric lights. The film also blocks up to 99 percent of ultraviolet light, providing better protection for both shoppers and interior finishes.
After learning about the benefits of 3M Daylight Redirecting window film, Robbins said it was an easy decision to move ahead with the project. Window Energy Products, an authorized 3M window film dealer in Brookfield, Illinois, coordinated with the general contractor and glass installer to complete the installation.
"We're excited to partner with 3M on innovative solutions that reduce a building's need for artificial light," says Kevin Anez, Director of Marketing and Product Management for Viracon, the project's glass fabricator. "The Walgreens project is a great example of how architectural glass and window film can work together to improve natural lighting and occupant comfort while reducing artificial lighting costs."
CUTTING LIGHTING COSTS UP TO 52 PERCENT
For every vertical foot of window glass treated with redirecting window film, 3M estimates that natural daylight can be extended up to eight feet into a building's interior. That can translate into as much as a 52 percent reduction in lighting energy costs. And, in the case of the Evanston Walgreens, the film is performing brilliantly.
"By applying 3M Daylight Redirecting window film, we were able to solve our primary goal of reducing glare, while simultaneously saving energy by increasing the area we could use for daylight harvesting," Robbins added. "Our decisions on how to treat our west–facing curtain wall were critical in the overall look, feel and function of our net–zero design."
Charles Walgreen would approve. |
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