Have you tried turning it off? digiLED’s stadium energy solution

The benefits of these screens are undeniable as they can help fans follow the action more easily with graphics, replays, and scores.

The majority of these screens are made using LEDs or light-emitting diodes which consume significantly less power than many other display technologies.

LED screens also have a longer lifespan than traditional methods meaning that they do not need to be replaced as often, therefore reducing environmental impact.

Other key sustainability features of LED screens are their recyclability, low heat emission, and adaptable brightness.

However, there is one significant downside in that they are almost never turned off and are instead left “playing black” on standby.

This mode projects a black image to make the screen appear to be off but instead it is still running and can consume between 6-18% of max power.

The energy consumption of big screens in stadiums is often overlooked but digiLED, a British company formed in 2000, has acted as a pioneer in creating more sustainable solutions.

Its patented Zero Use Technology System, also known as ZEUS, was launched 13 years after the company’s founding and has gone on to become an award-winning development.

It cuts the screens’ power consumption to zero when not in use or on standby, and gives users quantifiable figures that can be used for green accreditation.

ZEUS has since been installed at 40 locations around the world including venues such as the Headingley Cricket Ground in the UK, Choccolocco Park in Alabama, USA, and London’s O2 Arena.

Headingly, home to Yorkshire County Cricket Club, has saved more than 49,000 kWh on its 100 square-metre screen as a result of installing the technology in October last year.

It has also saved nearly £14,000 ($18,300/€16,600) which could be used to help the club’s sustainability initiatives.

digiLED claims that potential savings on power can be as high as £65,000 and that CO₂ savings can reach 45 tonnes per year.

ZEUS also cannot cause a power outage due to the way it is designed to power up.

“What is unique with ZEUS is that we use a randomisation algorithm in each and every panel of the screen,” digiLED Technical Director Tom Mudd tells Global Sustainable Sport.

“That means that when you send the go signal, there is an 18-second window in which the node will choose to switch on.

“What that does is ensure that no two panels on the screen will switch on at the same time.

“If you had one switch that controlled them all you would have an inrush that could blow the local substation.

“This is part of the reason why people have traditionally just left them running.

“What ZEUS does is give owners a really easy way to switch their screens off, but the clever bit is that it gives them a soft start that is reliable and repeatable without any risk of overloading the power system.

“That’s the key bit of tech that we cracked.”

As ZEUS is focused on environmental savings, digiLED has to ensure that it is as sustainable as its flagship product.

It has enforced a 228-step process into the manufacture and transport of its products that aims to be efficient, while maintaining the smallest carbon footprint it can.

The company makes use of aluminium for its screens which is one of the most recyclable materials on earth.

Around 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still used in some form and recycled aluminium takes 95% less energy to produce compared to its primary form.

Shipping has also proven to be an important step towards sustainability for digiLED, opting for the low-carbon option instead of air travel.

“Air freight is 44 times more carbon intensive than sea freight,” says Mudd.

“When we are manufacturing the screens and shipping them to clients we always try to default to sea freight.

“So many of our products have a delivery deadline. What we try to do early on in the project is encourage our customers to plan a schedule that enables sea freight.

“If we can do the procurement, manufacturing, final acceptance, and sea freight, then we produce significantly less carbon.”

A 70,000-seat stadium can consume between 10,000 to 20,000 kWh on matchdays and so it is unsurprising that more and more organisations are seeking to lower this.

Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium is ranked as the greenest Premier League stadium by environmental company Bionic.

It was the first in the league to install large-scale battery systems in 2018 and has also worked with digiLED since then.

Although it is still under wraps, Mudd confirmed that other high-profile names are aiming to lower their carbon footprint in collaboration with the company.

“We redid the screens at Arsenal a few years ago with a precursor to ZEUS installed,” Mudd says.

“We can’t call it ZEUS but we have done one Premier League team to date. We have also had to sign a whole bunch of NDAs.

“There are some very big UK organisations we are working with who have heard about ZEUS and are interested.

“Two of these are in the professional sports world.”

While sport has a long way to go to achieve its environmental goals, reductions in carbon emissions can be found in nearly every facet of an organisation’s operations.

Finding a solution for needless energy usage such as stadium screens being left on is a seemingly simple yet important step in the right direction.

There are more than 270 signatories to the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework, including major players such as the National Basketball Association, the ATP Tour, and the International Olympic Committee.

While there is still potential for bigger sustainability initiatives, if similar technology was implemented by a larger number of organisations, sport’s negative environmental impact could see an encouraging decline.