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Save money and the planet with 'green' digital signage

How improving digital signage display technologies help the environment and profit margins at the same time.

July 13, 2012 by Christopher Hall — w, t

"Green" digital signage can both help save the environment and help add to deployers' bottom lines.

Working in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and NEC Display Solutions of America, DST recently hosted a webinar on the environmental and monetary benefits of "green," or environmentally-friendly, digital signage displays.

The webinar was called "Digital Signage & the Environment — Why you should care about being eco-friendly," and its main focus turned out to be how Energy Star-approved digital signage displays simply saved end-users money by having their displays use less power — and using less power creates fewer greenhouse gas emissions. There were of course other highlights, but for deployers who are conscious of their ROI, that seems to be the most convincing case to make, according to Una Song, program manager for the EPA's Energy Star Program.

"One of the most compelling arguments for Energy Star products is that it's both practical and environmental," Song said during the live presentation. "So you can both save money while reaping some environmental benefits."

Overall, the webinar looked at how a strategic approach to energy management offers both environmental and economic benefits — and how, as Energy Star celebrates 20 years of improvements in energy efficiency, there have been continued strides in the efficiency of displays.

The presenters talked about eco-friendly large-screen display technology and provided information on recent developments in the Energy Star program related to its displays product specification, and how these impact the display industry, as well as Energy Star's outreach efforts to the industry.

In addition to Song, the webinar featured Rachel Karnani, the product manager for large-screen displays for NEC Display Solutions; and Verena Radulovic, a product manager for Energy Star.

Karnani started off by highlighting eco-friendly technologies already being deployed in digital signage displays, from ambient light sensors that adjust the brightness of the screen depending on the brightness of its environs, to scheduling software that shuts down displays when they're not needed, to LED backlighting, which requires less energy and uses fewer hazardous materials than CCFL backlighting.

Radulovic talked about how the EPA's Energy Star specifications are created, and talked about increasing outreach efforts to manufacturers and the digital signage industry to get them fully on board with Energy Star.

And while the energy and costs savings are great selling points to end users, one other extremely salient point the EPA representatives brought up should be of particular interest to digital signage companies: The federal government and its agencies are required to buy Energy Star-approved products when available. Many state governments have similar requirements. The federal government also owns or manages more than 900,000 buildings across the country, Song said. Left unsaid was the fact that government deployments of digital signage are a still growing, and largely untapped, market that will likely see significant growth in the near future.

That's not exactly a bad incentive to get on board with Energy Star.

(Readers can download and watch the full webinar by clicking here.)

Read more about digital signage display technology.

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