Saving Money by Making Your A/V System Greener - The AV Spot - Pro Audio, Video, Data and Lighting
Spot and Clarence Learning Center and Blog
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Nov
30
Admittably, any large or even medium sized sound, lighting and video system is a huge power hog, no two ways about it. No equipment manufacturer that I am aware of to date has changed their focus from great sound and video to efficient and ecology friendly sound and video. Any movement towards saving energy or saving the planet from the A/V manufacturers is probably a long time away and at best - the strides they made have been out shoots of better technology and saving the planet, or even saving on your electric bill, has been the last thing on their mind.
However - there are things you can do now that will reduce the carbon footprint of any sound lighting and video system. And reducing the carbon footprint also has a direct correlation to saving you money on your electric bill every month. For now - the following methods, albeit somewhat forced, are better than nothing.
Here are the tips...
1. Lighting -
The days of the old style filament lights are gone. If you still have old style screw in lightbulb and can style stage fixtures, throw them away and replace them with the new LED fixtures. The new fixtures create almost as much light now as the old style (up to Par 64 size now) and they will pay for themselves in energy savings alone in a very short time, typically within just a few months depending upon how often you use your lighting systems. The thing to remember is that even thought LED is very bight now - they still arent as punchy or cant be focused as well as a Par 64 or even a par 56. If you have some lights that you typically use as a strong spot, you may wish to keep them incandescent for now. But if your lighitng is general illumication and spotting, then its time to save some real money !
2. Lighting -
Let's say you have a few high power lights or special effect lights that you can't replace just yet with the new LED style instruments. Check the power cord. If you aren't using a large enough wire to supply the bulb with power, you are using too much power to deliver the necessary wattage at the end of the line. We recommend nothing smaller than 14 gauge cable for even medium size lighting fixtures. The lower the gauge, the larger and typically more efficient the cable.
3. Lighting -
Are you using dimmers to just turn the bulbs on and off? Consider using relays instead. The power loss on running the power through a dimmer is wasteful if all you are doing is turning them on and off. (Dimmers use almost the same amount of power whether the light is on or off.. feel the heat on a dimmer - the heat comes from the power you arent sending to the light.)
4. Lighting -
Are you running a base current through your lights to have them ready at all times? Turn the dimmers off completely when your light show isn't in use. If your dimmers are ON - then you are using power. Lot's of it.
5. Video -
Are you still using any CRT televisions? Take them down now and switch over to Plasmas or LCD monitors. They will not only look sleeker, brighter and be more pleasing to the eye, they will save power. LCD televisions are the champ at saving power here... they win hands down. But either one beats a CRT for power consumption and saving power.
6. Video -
Do your video monitors run all day? Or do you turn them off at night? You are still drawing power even when they are turned off by the remote because most monitors stay in the standby power mode to make you believe they can turn on in an instant. Some monitors have a special power saving mode that drops the power use down to almost nothing.. but it is still drawing power so it can switch on quickly. If you can - use a controlled or switched circuit that turns the power off completely. If you cannot - look for the power saver off mode on your monitor and use it.
As an aside... Energy Star is releasing new power consumption standards for television monitors that is to be put into place sometime this year or next..so watch for even bigger power consumption savings very soon. Screen size will also be taken into consideration with the new ratings here to make it easy to compare similar models.
7. Audio -
Contrary to what might seem logical.. a smaller amp may actually waste more power than a larger one. Smaller amps have to work harder to be louder for short times, and they will more easily go into "overdrive" to accomplish this. This wastes energy. You should use an amplifier that has at least 25 percent more power than your speakers are rated at. You should also consider updating your amplifiers if they are older than ten years as the newer models use more digital circuitry now - which translates to less power consumption. See below to item 10 for more on this.
8. Audio -
Check your cables. Small cables waste power on the way to your speakers. We typically recommend a minimum of a 12 gauge cable for any professional speaker. And unless you are playing music on tiny speakers in your home - throw out the zip cord and the 20 gauge cable. Your amplifiers have to work harder to get the same amoount of power to your speakers over small wire sizes, whereas larger wire has lower impedence and allows the power to get to your speakers easier.
9. Audio -
How efficient are your speakers? Are you using concert style speakers to play music or reproduce voice in a small space? Typically less efficient speakers that are used in concert situations or for live sound are not very efficient. Use the right speaker for the right job. Ceiling speakers are typically very efficient, as are wall mounted smaller speakers that are designed for smaller areas.
10. Audio -
Are you still using separate amplifiers? Well.. sometimes thats ok. But if you are, use a Class D amplifier whenever you can. Almost everyone makes a series of class D amplifiers now and they are much more efficient than the old style analog amplifiers. A simple rule here is amplifiers that create less heat will use less power.
You should also consider using powered speakers whenever possible. Most of them now have class D amplifiers that are sized specifically for the speaker and tuned to the cabinet to be ultra efficient. Remember to use the right sized A.C. power cable if you decide to go this route..
11. Audio -
Think about losing some of the bass. Most systems can back off the bass response just a bit and nobody would even notice. Unless you are reproducing club music or concert audio .. you don't need to have 20, 30 or even 40 Hz pumped up as most normal people can't hear that. The less bass your sound system tries to reproduce, the less power it uses and the cooler the amplifier runs. The cooler the amp - the lower the electric bill.
12. Wireless Microphone -
Some wireless microphones use rechargeable batteries.. most don't. Pick the wireless microphones that already have rechargeable rechargeable batteries as part of their package and you will reduce the amount of batteries entering our waste system. Plus- most most rechargeable batteries when they reach the end of their life will be accepted for recycling.
The option to this is to use a smart charger that works with 9 volt Nickel-Hydride rechargeable batteries. The claim is that it allows for a full charge on a commercial 9 volt battery and therefore will work with all wireless microphones that before did not allow for rechargeables.
To me.. its really a toss up. On the one hand, we are putting less batteries into the waste stream when we use rechargeables. On the other, its not clear whether the wireless systems will work as well on rechargeable batteries - AND we use a lot of power to create the charge. You figure out what's best for you there.
13. Computers and Monitors -
More and more sound and lighting systems now have computers as their front end control. There is always a debate about whether it is better to leave a computer on or to turn it off at night when considering power consumption. I don't know... but - I do know how to reduce the power draw no matter what your choice is. Go to http://www.verdiem.com/edison/ and download your copy of edison power software. It is by far the best software power consumption control for your PC that I have seen. Best of all, its free.
13. All Dimmers and Amplifiers etc. -
When was the last time you cleaned the dust out of your amplifiers or dimmer packs? Im not pretending to be a siant here - I always forget to do this. But by blowing the dust out of any of your heat producing equipment, such as amplifiers, dimmers, televisions, etc - you will see an increase in cooling efficientcy which should translate into lower costs to operate. It will also theoretically increase the lifespan of your equipment as well.
Simply get a compressor and blow the dust out, or a powerful vacuum and suck the dust out of all of your equipment .. voila.. instant savings!
14. Everything Else -
Simply turn the power off when you aren't using it.
Sometimes because the equipment racks have been installed into some forsaken corner of the building, turning the equipment on or off is a chorethat is often ignored. I personally know of racks of equipment that have not seen the off switch in over 15 years - even though the system is only used once a week.
One of the greatest inventions that can be used to make this easier is the sequential remote relay. With the flick of a remote switch, your equipment can be turned either on or off in the correct and safe order. It can even be placed on a timer to turn on and off on certain days or certain times - thereby cutting your electrical consumption possibly as much as 70 percent.
Got any more ideas? Suggestions for more ways to green up our electronics? I would love to hear from you. Send ideas, hate mail or anything else to mkoenig@multi.com. I will love to hear your thoughts, and I will follow this up with any corrections and the best ideas that you have to green up your A/V system and save money on the power bill.
If you have any questions, call us anytime at 800-247-5440. We try to help everyone that calls solve their audio, video or lighitng problems with good information.
Saving Money by Making Your A/V System Greener
Published in Untagged by admin
Making Your Sound Lighting and Video Systems more Eco-Friendly
Forcing The Greening of A/V Technology to Save Money on the Monthly Power Bill
Admittably, any large or even medium sized sound, lighting and video system is a huge power hog, no two ways about it. No equipment manufacturer that I am aware of to date has changed their focus from great sound and video to efficient and ecology friendly sound and video. Any movement towards saving energy or saving the planet from the A/V manufacturers is probably a long time away and at best - the strides they made have been out shoots of better technology and saving the planet, or even saving on your electric bill, has been the last thing on their mind.
Those of us in professional A/V are now getting questioned about just how "green" our systems are since their sponsors or the corporations that own the facilities are being good corporate citizens and asking. We can really only stare back with big eyes and reply that there is little or no data on the subject so far.
However - there are things you can do now that will reduce the carbon footprint of any sound lighting and video system. And reducing the carbon footprint also has a direct correlation to saving you money on your electric bill every month. For now - the following methods, albeit somewhat forced, are better than nothing.
Here are the tips...
1. Lighting -
The days of the old style filament lights are gone. If you still have old style screw in lightbulb and can style stage fixtures, throw them away and replace them with the new LED fixtures. The new fixtures create almost as much light now as the old style (up to Par 64 size now) and they will pay for themselves in energy savings alone in a very short time, typically within just a few months depending upon how often you use your lighting systems. The thing to remember is that even thought LED is very bight now - they still arent as punchy or cant be focused as well as a Par 64 or even a par 56. If you have some lights that you typically use as a strong spot, you may wish to keep them incandescent for now. But if your lighitng is general illumication and spotting, then its time to save some real money !
2. Lighting -
Let's say you have a few high power lights or special effect lights that you can't replace just yet with the new LED style instruments. Check the power cord. If you aren't using a large enough wire to supply the bulb with power, you are using too much power to deliver the necessary wattage at the end of the line. We recommend nothing smaller than 14 gauge cable for even medium size lighting fixtures. The lower the gauge, the larger and typically more efficient the cable.
3. Lighting -
Are you using dimmers to just turn the bulbs on and off? Consider using relays instead. The power loss on running the power through a dimmer is wasteful if all you are doing is turning them on and off. (Dimmers use almost the same amount of power whether the light is on or off.. feel the heat on a dimmer - the heat comes from the power you arent sending to the light.)
4. Lighting -
Are you running a base current through your lights to have them ready at all times? Turn the dimmers off completely when your light show isn't in use. If your dimmers are ON - then you are using power. Lot's of it.
5. Video -
Are you still using any CRT televisions? Take them down now and switch over to Plasmas or LCD monitors. They will not only look sleeker, brighter and be more pleasing to the eye, they will save power. LCD televisions are the champ at saving power here... they win hands down. But either one beats a CRT for power consumption and saving power.
6. Video -
Do your video monitors run all day? Or do you turn them off at night? You are still drawing power even when they are turned off by the remote because most monitors stay in the standby power mode to make you believe they can turn on in an instant. Some monitors have a special power saving mode that drops the power use down to almost nothing.. but it is still drawing power so it can switch on quickly. If you can - use a controlled or switched circuit that turns the power off completely. If you cannot - look for the power saver off mode on your monitor and use it.
As an aside... Energy Star is releasing new power consumption standards for television monitors that is to be put into place sometime this year or next..so watch for even bigger power consumption savings very soon. Screen size will also be taken into consideration with the new ratings here to make it easy to compare similar models.
7. Audio -
Contrary to what might seem logical.. a smaller amp may actually waste more power than a larger one. Smaller amps have to work harder to be louder for short times, and they will more easily go into "overdrive" to accomplish this. This wastes energy. You should use an amplifier that has at least 25 percent more power than your speakers are rated at. You should also consider updating your amplifiers if they are older than ten years as the newer models use more digital circuitry now - which translates to less power consumption. See below to item 10 for more on this.
8. Audio -
Check your cables. Small cables waste power on the way to your speakers. We typically recommend a minimum of a 12 gauge cable for any professional speaker. And unless you are playing music on tiny speakers in your home - throw out the zip cord and the 20 gauge cable. Your amplifiers have to work harder to get the same amoount of power to your speakers over small wire sizes, whereas larger wire has lower impedence and allows the power to get to your speakers easier.
9. Audio -
How efficient are your speakers? Are you using concert style speakers to play music or reproduce voice in a small space? Typically less efficient speakers that are used in concert situations or for live sound are not very efficient. Use the right speaker for the right job. Ceiling speakers are typically very efficient, as are wall mounted smaller speakers that are designed for smaller areas.
10. Audio -
Are you still using separate amplifiers? Well.. sometimes thats ok. But if you are, use a Class D amplifier whenever you can. Almost everyone makes a series of class D amplifiers now and they are much more efficient than the old style analog amplifiers. A simple rule here is amplifiers that create less heat will use less power.
You should also consider using powered speakers whenever possible. Most of them now have class D amplifiers that are sized specifically for the speaker and tuned to the cabinet to be ultra efficient. Remember to use the right sized A.C. power cable if you decide to go this route..
11. Audio -
Think about losing some of the bass. Most systems can back off the bass response just a bit and nobody would even notice. Unless you are reproducing club music or concert audio .. you don't need to have 20, 30 or even 40 Hz pumped up as most normal people can't hear that. The less bass your sound system tries to reproduce, the less power it uses and the cooler the amplifier runs. The cooler the amp - the lower the electric bill.
12. Wireless Microphone -
Some wireless microphones use rechargeable batteries.. most don't. Pick the wireless microphones that already have rechargeable rechargeable batteries as part of their package and you will reduce the amount of batteries entering our waste system. Plus- most most rechargeable batteries when they reach the end of their life will be accepted for recycling.
The option to this is to use a smart charger that works with 9 volt Nickel-Hydride rechargeable batteries. The claim is that it allows for a full charge on a commercial 9 volt battery and therefore will work with all wireless microphones that before did not allow for rechargeables.
To me.. its really a toss up. On the one hand, we are putting less batteries into the waste stream when we use rechargeables. On the other, its not clear whether the wireless systems will work as well on rechargeable batteries - AND we use a lot of power to create the charge. You figure out what's best for you there.
13. Computers and Monitors -
More and more sound and lighting systems now have computers as their front end control. There is always a debate about whether it is better to leave a computer on or to turn it off at night when considering power consumption. I don't know... but - I do know how to reduce the power draw no matter what your choice is. Go to http://www.verdiem.com/edison/ and download your copy of edison power software. It is by far the best software power consumption control for your PC that I have seen. Best of all, its free.
13. All Dimmers and Amplifiers etc. -
When was the last time you cleaned the dust out of your amplifiers or dimmer packs? Im not pretending to be a siant here - I always forget to do this. But by blowing the dust out of any of your heat producing equipment, such as amplifiers, dimmers, televisions, etc - you will see an increase in cooling efficientcy which should translate into lower costs to operate. It will also theoretically increase the lifespan of your equipment as well.
Simply get a compressor and blow the dust out, or a powerful vacuum and suck the dust out of all of your equipment .. voila.. instant savings!
14. Everything Else -
Simply turn the power off when you aren't using it.
Sometimes because the equipment racks have been installed into some forsaken corner of the building, turning the equipment on or off is a chorethat is often ignored. I personally know of racks of equipment that have not seen the off switch in over 15 years - even though the system is only used once a week.
One of the greatest inventions that can be used to make this easier is the sequential remote relay. With the flick of a remote switch, your equipment can be turned either on or off in the correct and safe order. It can even be placed on a timer to turn on and off on certain days or certain times - thereby cutting your electrical consumption possibly as much as 70 percent.
Got any more ideas? Suggestions for more ways to green up our electronics? I would love to hear from you. Send ideas, hate mail or anything else to mkoenig@multi.com. I will love to hear your thoughts, and I will follow this up with any corrections and the best ideas that you have to green up your A/V system and save money on the power bill.
If you have any questions, call us anytime at 800-247-5440. We try to help everyone that calls solve their audio, video or lighitng problems with good information.
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