{"id":408400,"date":"2010-03-09T16:32:35","date_gmt":"2010-03-09T21:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenrightnow.com\/?p=9735"},"modified":"2010-03-09T16:32:35","modified_gmt":"2010-03-09T21:32:35","slug":"a-north-carolina-mcdonald%e2%80%99s-goes-mcgreen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/408400","title":{"rendered":"A North Carolina McDonald\u2019s goes McGreen"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Barbara Kessler<\/a>
\nGreen Right Now<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Ric Richards recently acquired an aging McDonalds in Cary, N.C., he knew the place needed an overhaul.\u00a0 The 25-year-old store was fraying at the edges.<\/p>\n

\"LED<\/p>\n

LED lighting at Cary McDonalds<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Richards decided to give these particular golden arches a green touch.<\/p>\n

Once he\u2019d decided that the building needed replacing, the decision to go eco-friendly was not difficult. Richards knew it made sense from a business standpoint \u2013 it would cut energy costs dramatically \u2013 and he figured it would resonate with the educated customers living in the Research Triangle region, especially those interested in lower-carbon living.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt it was the right thing to do,\u2019\u2019 said the owner-operator whose green restaurant celebrated its grand opening this winter. \u201cWe all need to be more geared for sustainability as we move into the future. We need to build buildings or live at home using fewer resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Creating the third green-credentialed restaurant in the nation proved just a little easier in the Raleigh-Durham area, because the leading LED manufacturer Cree Lighting<\/a> is just down the road.<\/p>\n

Cree representatives, Richards and architect Logan Luzadr of LMHT Architects collaborated to light the restaurant\u2019s public spaces completely with LEDs, which use less than 20 percent of the energy consumed by comparable incandescent lighting and only about half the energy used by CFL lights.<\/p>\n

Virtually all of the restaurant\u2019s lights are LEDs, making the LEED (for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) Gold-rated building a showcase of state-of-the art lighting.<\/p>\n

Not only are the LEDs more efficient than other types of lighting, they don\u2019t contain any mercury, which has been a downside of CFLs.<\/p>\n

“If you didn’t know the lighting in McDonald’s was LED, you probably wouldn’t notice, but that’s the point. The Cree LED lights in the Cary McDonald’s give off the same beautiful light you would expect from an incandescent but consume just a fraction of the energy,” said Cree executive Gary Trott. “This allows the store to layer in accent lighting for a more pleasing environment while still meeting LEED-certification standards.”<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Lighting doesn\u2019t just come from a socket, however, and Luzadr\u2019s design assured that day times at the McD\u2019s would be naturally lit. The building was constructed with 360-degrees of windows in a cupola above the eating area with 19 Solatubes \u2013 tunnels that carry sky light \u2013 spread across the restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cAesthetically the restaurant looks terrific,\u201d said Richards, who explained that lighting was a key focus of the rebuild because it does double duty, saving energy and improving the feel of the cafe.<\/p>\n

The other aspect of green building that Richards wanted to be sure to get right was the heating and cooling system. His \u201cgreen team\u201d of Luzadr, operations manager Tony Myers, green site designer Brian Stoltz of Commercial Site Design in Raleigh and green advisor Skanska USA<\/a>, came up with an enclosed Hydronic Water Boiler System (available in residential versions<\/a>)\u00a0 that cuts energy use, in part, by using humidity to keep the restaurant at an even temperature.<\/p>\n

The technologically advanced system gives the restaurant a different tactile feel, Richards says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI own seven restaurants and I can tell the difference. I just built another one (with the) same style and design, very aesthetic\u2026and it’s energy efficient, but it feels different.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Richards estimates his return on the green energy investments will be just five years. Figuring the ROI on the other green changes will not be an easy mathematical formula, but the improved aesthetics and environmentally sensitive changes are tangible but immeasurable rewards.<\/p>\n

Among the other features in the LEED-certified builiding:<\/p>\n