Role Of Software In Creating Eco-Friendly Digital Signage

If you're a business owner, there's a good chance you've thought about how you can make your operations more sustainable. And while there are many ways to do that, one area you may not have considered is your digital signage. Yes, believe it or not, the software that powers your signs can have a big impact on their sustainability. Here's a look at how digital signage can be eco-friendly.

What is Green Digital Signage?

First things first, let's start with a definition. What is Green Digital Signage? It’s digital signage that is eco-friendly (“green"), taking innovative approaches to advertise and communicate with the public while reducing its negative impact on the environment.

There are many ways to create green digital signage, but one of the more overlooked options is the CMS software and how it is used. Energy-efficient software can help you create digital signage that is not only eco-friendly but also cost-effective and easy to maintain.

How software can help create eco-friendly signage

Run on low-powered hardware

The use of low-powered devices can help conserve energy and save money. For example, green software that enables signage to be run on Raspberry Pi's instead of high-powered computers can help reduce the amount of energy being consumed. This is important because it can help businesses and organizations reduce their carbon footprint while saving money.
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Here's an example of using Raspberry Pi to run digital signage software:

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Furthermore, utilizing low-powered gadgets can help extend the life of hardware since they generate less heat and put less strain on the components.

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Reduce Memory Usage

Additionally, software can be designed to be more efficient in terms of memory usage. This reduces the amount of energy needed to run the software and ultimately reduces the environmental impact of the signage.

Caching is a great example of how this works. By storing content like images or videos in a local cache, the signage software doesn't have to load the content from the cloud each time there is a refresh. Over the long term, these little energy savings can add up. It also enhances the customer experience as the item displayed will load more quickly.

Compressing data is another approach to reduce memory usage. This can be done using various methods, such as removing unused data or using algorithms to reduce the size of graphic media. This enables more data to be stored in memory, which reduces the need to read from slower storage devices.

Scheduling Heavy and Light Content

Another way to reduce the amount of energy your signage consumes is to schedule lighter content to run at off-peak times. This means that the displays will be turned on and running when fewer people are around, but they won't need to be as bright or use as much power. You can also use this strategy to reduce the time your signs run, which will also help save energy and go green with environmentally friendly signs.

Another approach to reduce the sign's energy consumption is to use content that is only visible when there are people around who can see it. For example, you can use sensors to detect when people are near your signs and only display content when someone is within range. This ensures that your signs are only running when they need to be, which can help save a lot of energy.

NOTE: Of course, even if showing a black image, the signage display continues to consume some energy. It is only by turning off displays entirely, after hours, can maximum energy savings be realized.

Avoid printing material

Digital signage can help you save paper and other resources that would be used for onsite printing. Many retailers have already made the switch and have stopped printing out receipts, coupons, and other material, replacing them with emails, QR-code accessed coupons and more.

There is also the broader advantage of replacing printed signage with digital signage. Certainly, a poster consumes less energy than digital signage, but that poster cannot be revised, replaced ,or corrected without printing a new poster. This is an inelegant and time-consuming process that undermines any energy cost savings. With a digital approach, it is far more optimal and - in the long run – cost-effective to reflect changes in your products, sales, and promotions.

How can Intuiface help you reduce your carbon footprint?

With its native code-like performance, Intuiface’s Player Next Gen technology can run on low-powered hardware like Raspberry Pi. As noted, this means reduced energy consumption and, ultimately, the reduced environmental impact of signage. Additionally, Intuiface is designed to be a highly efficient user of memory. This efficiency translates into less energy required to run the software, with less consumption resulting in a reduced environmental impact. Finally, Intuiface makes it easy to schedule content, so more “heavy” media is only displayed when necessary, such as when an attentive audience is detected. This helps reduce the time your signs run resource-intensive content, conserving energy.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many ways that the software powering your digital signage can help make it more sustainable. By using these tips, you can create green signage that is eco-friendly, cost-effective, and easy to maintain.