Electric Signs

Report: Digital Billboards More Energy-Efficient

Louis Berger Group reports electronic billboard energy consumption down by 40% or more over past four years

Published

13 years ago

June 30, 2011

Steve Aust Signs of the Times June 2011 Issue

The Louis Berger Group (LBG), a Morristown, NJ-based international consulting firm, states that energy consumption by 14 x 48-ft., electronic billboards has declined, on average, by 61% over the last four years. Also, LBG’s report indicates energy usage by 12 x 24-ft. billboards has dropped an average of 40% over the same period.

“The outdoor-advertising industry is committed to corporate social responsibility and community investment, as evidenced by the findings in this analysis,” Nancy Fletcher, Outdoor Advertising Assn. of America’s (OAAA) president, said. “Reducing energy consumption is obviously a top priority.”

To draw its conclusion, LBG evaluated digital billboards’ meter readings, and determined that brightness controls reduce nighttime brightness (and energy consumption). New-generation electronic equipment doesn’t require air conditioning – instead it uses air-circulation fans, which require less power; typically, actual consumption is 75% or less of capacity.

According to OAAA, which sponsored the energy-consumption reviews, digital billboards used in the analysis were made by Daktronics and Young Electric Sign Co.

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