Wal-Mart’s experimental store employs multiple sustainable green technologies in Aurora, Colorado, and provides a platform for change in the retail industry. To minimize their environmental impact, even in the event of a power outage, Wal-Mart selected the highly efficient, ultra low emission PureComfort® Model 360M combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) solution from UTC Power.

The PureComfort® solution is a combination of six 60-kilowatt microturbines and a double-effect absorption chiller from Carrier Corporation, UTC Power’s sister company. It is the industry’s only integrated microturbine and double-effect absorption chiller solution.


 Energy Productivity

The exhaust heat from the natural gas-powered microtrubines is collected in a manifold and used to drive the double-effect absorption chiller, enabling the PureComfort® solution to achieve an overall fuel utilization rate of approximately 80 percent, far greater than the 33 percent typical of a central powerplant. With an efficiency more than twice that of traditional power sources, the PureComfort® solution ensures this Wal-Mart store is conserving energy. 

The PureComfort® solution installed at Wal-Mart provides 185 RT of space cooling, 1.3 MMBTU of space/floor heating, and up to 292 kW of power year round. This solution provides cooling and heating simultaneously and maximizes its efficiency by allowing partial cooling and heating.

“We applaud Wal-Mart for the initiative they have demonstrated through their visionary store in Colorado. We are proud to have our PureComfort® combined cooling, heating and power solution employed in a location with so much potential to evoke change in the retail industry.”

Jan van Dokkum
President, UTC Power


 Energy Security

The PureComfort® solution is designed to operate in parallel to and independently from the grid to provide backup power for the refrigeration system in the event of a power outage. With backup power available in minutes to their refrigeration racks, Wal-Mart secures the freshness of their products through the use of environmentally advanced technologies.


 Energy Responsibility

	Wal-Mart is proving that sustainability makes economic sense. While reducing its carbon footprint, it’s also conserving natural resources. The UTC Power PureComfort® system will reduce this store's carbon footprint by 650 tons each year. To achieve the same positive environmental impact, 130 acres* of forest would need to be planted.
	The power generated by a megawatt of PureComfort® systems saves over 4 million gallons** of water each year that would otherwise be wasted by conventional electrical generation. That’s enough water to fill more than 6 Olympic-size swimming pools. Water conservation is especially important as humanity battles to conserve precious water resources.
	Reduction of harmful emissions like nitrogen oxides (NOx), is yet another environmental benefit of  PureComfort®  system  technology. NOx emissions will be reduced at Wal-Mart by 5 tons each year, which equates to the same environmental benefit as removing 250 cars*** from the road.