McDonald’s unveiled a new “first-of-its-kind” global flagship restaurant in Orlando, Fla., in July that is designed to generate its own power, running the full restaurant operation with renewable energy.
Located on the west side of Disney World, near All-Star Resorts, the building is currently only open for drive-thru and delivery service, but when it starts full-service operations McDonald’s plans to use the flagship as a hub for further testing on solutions for energy and water savings as well.
The 8,000 sq. ft. restaurant features a V-shaped solar roof and photovoltaic glass panels throughout the building, which is adorned with more than 1,000 solar panels that can generate a total of about 600,000 kWh a year. More than 1,700 sq. ft. of plant-covered walls will absorb CO2 and help retain water, and low-flow plumbing and special pavers will help minimize water waste. A louver system was designed to automatically open and close to let the building “inhale” cool air and “exhale” warm air, and customers can contribute kinetic energy by utilizing the on-site stationary bikes to power string lights in the arches.
This stunning Net Zero Energy global flagship restaurant features 90 CRI custom SignRayz ULTRA 650 modules from GENLED AgiLight. Our premium ULTRA Series modules offer extreme energy savings, and we are excited and proud that McDonald’s recognized that efficiency and chose to use the ULTRA Series in this state-of-the-art construction. In fact, you could say we’re lovin’ it!
