Uploaded on 2017-04-15 by Rhianne Fiolka

This is a local Starbucks in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I’ve taken a picture of the lights in this Starbucks because, after reading the question, I was struck that some of these lights are completely unnecessary. It is broad daylight while this picture is taken and all of the lights were turned on unnecessarily. A possible solution to help curb this over-dependence on electricity would be timed lighting to fluctuate with the time of day. Additionally, in single-story malls, like the one with this Starbucks, it would be plausible to install sky lights to increase natural lighting and lower the electricity consumption. Alternatively we could also install solar panels along the roof. There are few towers in Calgary outside of the downtown core and Calgary is known for having ‘big skies’. Because of this, solar panels are plausible for many places in Calgary and are a powerful energy alternative that could really help this mall’s dependence on fossil fuel based electricity.