The environmental benefits of dynamic displays

by Matthew | 10 September 2012 8:30 am

By David Little
Corporations, governments and other institutions are all casting an introspective eye at how their operations affect the environment. This effort has included assessing the consequences of creating and displaying graphics and other communications materials for the public.

In this respect, digital signage can help these organizations minimize their environmental impact, so long as specific steps are taken to ensure networks are deployed in an ‘eco-friendly’ manner. This involves following strategies that are also, as it happens, wise business decisions.

Green strategies
When compared to printed graphics, digital signage may be considered far ‘greener.’ Messaging can be updated easily, eliminating the need to print new signs over and over. The fewer the signs produced, the fewer the physical resources used, including printable substrates made of papers or plastics, along with inks and chemical coatings. And cutting out the need to replace printed graphic waste eliminates the need for the energy required to recycle or dispose of them.

As mentioned, going green with digital signage not only reduces the environmental impact of communicating with the public, but also makes good business sense. While it may seem surprising, digital communications can indeed be less expensive than their printed counterparts. And that which makes digital signs less expensive than print is also what makes them more environmentally friendly.

What ties these goals together is the ability of digital signage to display countless messages, which would inherently require innumerable printed signs. A casino, for example, might rely on backlit translucent posters to promote entertainment, performances and specials, but given the sheer quantity of signs needed to tell patrons about frequently changing features, digital signage could prove a more cost-effective alternative. After all, with digital signs, updating promotions, ads and other on-screen content is simply a matter of a few computer keystrokes.

Equally important is eliminating the need to produce the translucent plastic films and specialized inks required for those printed backlit signs, which would otherwise raise the question of proper disposal. Digital signage answers that question before it is even raised, since nothing needs to be recycled or thrown away after a message expires.

Of course, the specific types and costs of printed signs will determine when digital signage—with its higher upfront expenses—can reach the financial breakeven point. In the example of a high-volume signage user like a casino, though, it can be in two years or less.

Related to this comparison of cost benefits between printed and digital signage is measuring ‘message per meter.’ Digital signage, by its nature, can play back multiple pages of content, one after another, in an endless sequence. In this sense, it is much like a TV channel with a full lineup of entertainment, news, commercials and other content.

It is almost silly to guess how printed signs could do anything similar, even if they wallpapered the entire planet. Digital signage is the clear winner in achieving the most messages per meter. In a retail setting, by way of example, this means more goods and services can be promoted per unit of wall space, which in turn should positively affect sales.

There is a fairly well-established workflow for designing these types of messages and graphics, whether they are intended for printed or digital signage. When it comes to actually producing them, however, digital signage is the better approach both for business and for the environment.

Updating messaging through a digital signage network eliminates the travel involved in visiting the physical location of each sign when replacing them. Reducing transportation reduces pollution.

Printed signs need to be transported by and with industry professionals at many points in the deployment process. From the moment paper or plastic stock arrives at a graphics printing facility until a client or outside contractor actually installs the signs, transportation and its environmental impact never cease.

The digital signage workflow is far more efficient from concept to delivery, with zero trips needed to carry physical media and people between the content’s point of origin and the location where it is to be displayed. Cutting out all of the usual ‘middlemen’ in a traditional print workflow makes digital signage an attractive alternative in terms of productivity.

Further productivity gains for the client organization are facilitated by digital signage software applications, which can extract specific information from existing databases, facility management software and other sources to create new content pages automatically.

Addressing concerns
While the aforementioned issues show how digital signage offers certain advantages over printed graphics in terms of environmental impact, this does not mean digital signage is free of all environmental concerns. On the contrary, among the most serious issues are the medium’s levels of power consumption, given the production of electricity needed to drive digital displays and the computers that manage them.

Also, hazardous materials are used in the production of digital displays and computers. It is important to plan for the disposal of these devices—and the packing materials needed to safely ship them to clients or installers.

Display power consumption
The development of light-emitting diode (LED) backlighting for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) has presented a viable alternative to more traditional fluorescent backlighting. This has allowed manufacturers to achieve new power savings in an increasing number of display panels.

One simple way to begin evaluating energy efficiency is to become familiar with the Energy Star international program. In Canada, it is promoted and monitored by Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan’s) Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE). According to the OEE, “products that display the Energy Star symbol have been tested according to prescribed procedures and have been found to meet or exceed higher energy efficiency levels without compromising performance.”

The Energy Star program has addressed a wide range of electronic displays, including those used in digital signage applications. It is also wise, of course, to turn screens off—either individually or across the entire network—after hours to save energy.

Player power consumption
The other device drawing power in a digital signage system is the media player. Typically, this is a compact computer running dedicated software.

Embedding the media player into the actual digital display unit can yield power savings, by eliminating redundant hardware. If this is not possible, the power consumption of a stand-alone media player can also be minimized, by replacing spinning disks with solid-state drives (SSDs) that require less cooling.

Hazardous substances
In 2008, a scientific article based on research by Michael Prather, a professor at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), set off alarm bells in the mainstream press with regard to NF3, a gas used in the production of LCD panels, integrated circuits and other products like solar panels. The article suggested the gas had thousands of times the effect on the atmosphere as a comparable quantity of carbon dioxide (CO₂) would.

Another article later that same year, however, found the press had overhyped the findings and distorted the environmental impact of NF3. It pointed out only a small quantity of the gas is released into the atmosphere. In fact, Prather agreed with this assessment.

“It’s not a big deal by itself,” he says. “We’re looking at less than 0.5 per cent of the impact of CO₂. It’s not the most important thing, though it should be added to the market ‘basket’ and monitored.”

Hazardous substances in digital signage players and fluorescent lights are legitimate concerns. Media players use components with lead and cadmium content, while fluorescent bulbs contain mercury.

With that in mind, the European Union (EU) has established the Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, which restricts the use of six hazardous materials, including lead and cadmium. Similar local restrictions around the world have made—and will continue to make—digital signage greener.

Disposal and waste
One way to minimize the environmental impact of digital signage networks is to extend the lives of their components. Choosing longer-life backlighting options, including LED technology, and limiting monitor operations to times when the business or other institution is actually open can help lengthen a display’s useful life.

Additionally, any old displays can be donated to charitable organizations—not only to benefit the needy, but also to keep the displays out of landfills. (Many communities today would not accept monitors and computers as waste anyway.)

Given the fragility of screens and media players, proper packing materials are essential for safe transportation and further use. So, when ensuring a digital signage system is as environmentally friendly as possible, recycled packing materials should be used—and recycled again afterwards.

Striking a balance
In 2010, the Screen Forum, an independent working group that shares best practices for digital signage, released a list of green principles as guidelines for companies working in the sector. This list aims to achieve balance in several ways: between environmental impact and performance; between achieving communications goals and being sympathetic to nearby landmarks; and between fulfilling commercial purposes and promoting community-minded environmental awareness.

Balancing performance and environmental impact touches upon many phases in digital signage network rollouts and operations. The Screen Forum seems to focus on drawing a distinction between sufficiency and saturation, by limiting the number of components and displays in a network, along with its power requirements.

Next, achieving balance between performance and placement near landmarks brings to mind the stark contrast between municipalities that ban digital billboards along their highways to the current state of the main strip in Las Vegas, Nev. The Screen Forum admonishes the industry to balance the legitimate desire to convey messages via digital signage with the need to appreciate that signage’s surroundings.

Finally, acknowledging the opportunity to use the network—even if only periodically—to raise public awareness of environmental concerns recognizes there is more to the medium than hardware, software and narrowcasting messages. The concept of public service announcements (PSAs) can be transplanted from the TV industry, even though most digital signage networks have no government-mandated obligation to fulfil.

A green machine?
It is worth pointing out few people would commit to digital signage as a communications medium solely on the basis of its environmental impact. Digital signs must first fulfil their primary function of effective communications or they will be of little use.

That said, the environmentally friendly attributes of digital signage are still strong reasons to consider replacing traditional signs where appropriate. And with proper planning, electrical consumption can be diminished further and the industry can reduce the release of computer components’ elements like arsenic and cadmium in landfills.

12 Steps to Sustainability
The Screen Forum’s ‘GreenScreen’ initiative lays out 12 steps for digital signage operators to consider as best practices for reducing their environmental impact:

1. Carefully target digital signage networks at the desired audience, with minimal ‘overspill’ into surrounding areas.
2. Carry out installations with the minimum environmental cost and sympathetically to existing landmarks.
3. Replace other media that would consume significant resources for less overall effectiveness.
4. Use low-power digital displays that are only as large and bright as needed.
5. Optimize power use by shutting down the displays when appropriate and adjusting their brightness with relation to ambient lighting.
6. Keep computing power to a minimum, so as to generate less heat, to need less cooling and to last longer.
7. Choose the longest-lasting systems, ensuring components will not need to be replaced frequently.
8. Use less equipment to consume less power and to deliver greater long-term reliability.
9. Regularly maintain systems to ensure continued efficiency and recycle parts wherever possible.
10. Check system suppliers’ environmental credentials and the sustainability of their products.
11. Generate and distribute content with the minimum environmental impact.
12. Use the medium regularly to promote public awareness of green issues.

David Little is director of marketing for Keywest Technology, which provides digital signage software and content creation services. For more information, visit www.keywesttechnology.com[8].

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/the-environmental-benefits-of-dynamic-displays/

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