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Walgreen's new Oak Park location—on the corner of West Madison Street and South Oak Park Avenue—has a temperature-control system that's powered by geothermal energy. The Sun-Times reports:
The system harnesses the earth’s heat using a network of four closed-loop boreholes installed to depths of 650 feet, and a heat-exchange system controlled by Indie Energy EnergyLoop(TM) technology. A heat-transfer liquid exchanges heating and cooling energy with the earth.The store's other eco-efforts include the use of LED lights, an automatic dimming system, and, according to the paper, a hand-drying system in the bathrooms that's powered by lights.Inside the store, which opened on Nov. 1, a geothermal heat pump and refrigeration systems pull heating energy from the fluid for heat, and reject heat in order to cool.
The system provides a constant 55-degree (F) temperature.
· Walgreens opens geothermal store in Oak Park [Sun-Times]