WAGGA'S Sturt Mall has started renovations that will update the shopping centre's look and slash its energy consumption.Centre manager, Kane Harding, yesterday said tiles outside the mall were currently being replaced.Beginning next week, a new ceiling will be installed between the Forsyth Street entrance and Coles and when that work is done new tiles will be laid in that area."We just feel it is time for an upgrade," Mr Harding said.The new ceiling will still allow natural light into the mall, but it will reduce the heat currently coming in through the atrium roofing.Mr Harding said construction work inside the mall would be carried out after hours so shoppers and traders were not inconvenienced."It is after-hours work and the mall's operating hours will not be affected," Mr Harding said.Local Government Super, which owns the mall, has been working to improve the centre's energy efficiency.Mr Harding said that next year all retailing centres would need to have a National Australian Built Energy Rating System (NABERS) rating of 3.5 stars.While the Sturt Mall has achieved that rating already by reducing energy consumption by 15 per cent and water usage by eight per cent since December, it is aiming to reduce electricity usage further through the new ceiling and other measures to achieve the highest rating of five stars."This includes replacing light fittings with Australian-designed new generation E1 lights, upgrading the air-conditioning system and installing solar panels on the roof," Mr Harding said.The mall owners expect these initiatives will cut energy use by half.Modernising the mall's look comes at a time when several new retailers have opened shop in the centre, including TEMT, Valleygirl and Indian takeaway food shop Albarini's, while Dick Smith yesterday opened its big new outlet.