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IKEA Picks Up Steam in Its Environmental Efforts
Green Technology Featured Articles
September 20, 2013

IKEA Picks Up Steam in Its Environmental Efforts

By Cheryl Kaften
TMCnet Contributor

Global home furnishings retailer IKEA is determined to go “full steam ahead” on use of renewable energy at its new storefront in Merriam, Kansas, just outside Kansas City. In fact, this week, the company announced plans to use geothermal technology to heat and cool the 349,000-square-foot space.


Installing the closed-loop ground source heat pump system will involve drilling 180 boreholes—six inches in diameter and 600 feet deep—into the earth across part of the 19-acre IKEA parcel. Pipes placed into these boreholes will form an underground network of loops that will circulate 36,000 gallons of heat-transferring liquid (a water-based, anti-freeze solution) connected to 64 forced-air heat pumps to cool and heat the store. This system also includes five hot-water heat pumps, which will provide the potable hot water needed for the store’s lavatory and restaurant operations.

All drilling and underground work should be complete by winter, with the system—the largest such project in Kansas or Missouri—ultimately operational when IKEA Merriam opens in Fall 2014 as the second U.S. IKEA store tapping geothermal power.

IKEA's Centennial, Colo., store, in the Denver area, which launched in 2011, is the only other of the retailer’s nearly 40 U.S. stores coast-to-coast to use geothermal technology. The system installed at that 415,000-square-foot store taps into a constant underground temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, most of the company’s retail spaces worldwide have been retrofitted or built from scratch to use some form of renewable energy. Consistent with the company’s stated goal of achieving energy independence by 2020, IKEA globally:

  • Has installed more than 300,000 solar panels (including nearly 90 percent of its U.S. stores),
  • Owns/operates approximately 137 wind turbines in Europe, and
  • Has drilled down to access geothermal systems at approximately 50 locations.

For the development, design and installation of the Merriam store’s customized geothermal project, IKEA contracted with Colorado-based Major Geothermal, an integrator of geothermal heat pump system design and installation, with experience on projects in Asia, Europe and North America.

According to Mike Ward, president of IKEA US, “Fortunately, this location provides an opportunity to maximize IKEA Merriam’s renewable energy potential.”And that potential is substantial. Geothermal systems can cut electricity bills 25 percent to 50 percent, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden.


IKEA's sustainability vision (image courtesy of IKEA).

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA believes it can be a good business while doing good business and aims to minimize its impact on the environment. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution.

U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and by 2016 selling and using only LED bulbs.

IKEA U.S. is installing electric vehicle charging stations at 17 locations, and has solar arrays atop 90 percent of its locations; this Merriam, KS store also is being evaluated for solar potential.In addition to 500 jobs expected during construction of the new Merriam location, 300 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the store opens. IKEA Merriam also will provide annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.


Edited by Alisen Downey


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