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LED vs traditional stage lighting: Reducing emissions and fuel by 70%

How significant is the impact of changing traditional stage lighting for LEDs on fuel and equipment needed? 

The impact of LED stage lighting on efficiency and fuel use can be huge – in the example below a saving of 70% was made. There are also other ways to reduce main stage fuel use, for example using smaller gensets or hybrid units to manage low loads overnight.

In this example scenario PAR lights, with a conventional lamp of 650 W, are changed for an LED light of 36 W saving 614 W per light.

Let’s say that during a 10hr show the total time the PAR light is actually used is approx. 2hr. If in a stage 50 PARs are used, the energy savings will be 614 x 50 x 2 = 61,4 kWh. As a result of the change, the total power demand of the stage will be reduced by 30.7 kW.

If in this example the original maximum power demand of the total stage was 80 kW, a generator of minimum 100 kVA would have had to be used. The average load on the generator would be approx. 20 kW. This load on a 100-kVA diesel generator leads to an efficiency of approx. 18%. Per show day, the fuel consumption of a generator in this situation will be approx. 110 litre diesel.

After replacing the conventional lamps with LED lights, the maximum power demand of the total stage will be 50 kW. A generator of minimum 60 kVA will be needed. The average load on this generator then will be approx. 14 kW. This load on a 60-kVA diesel generator leads to an efficiency of approx. 23%. Per show day, the fuel consumption of this generator in this situation will be approx. 32 litres diesel.

So changing the conventional 650 W PAR lights into 36 W LED PAR lights would save 70% of fuel consumption and therefore 70% of the stage’s CO2 emissions.

This huge effect is not only because of lower power consumption by the lights itself, but also because of a reduction of the peak demand. Because a smaller generator can then be used, the average load on this generator is relatively higher and thus the efficiency of the generator is also higher.  It is worth noting that designing out large demand peaks in power systems is desirable, enabling smaller generators and fuel savings, but in the case of stages, it is acknowledged that there will be peaks due to the quality of the show.

Bestival

Bestival

Reducing fossil fuel dependency through efficiencies and biodiesel use

Bestival is one of the last major UK festivals of the summer calendar, attracting over 50,000 audience members to the Isle of Wight in recent years for this creative indie and dance music festival.

From the outset of the festival in 2004, organisers Rob and Josie de Bank were committed to being environmentally responsible and endeavouring to annually increase the use of renewables and WVO generators for energy throughout the festival site.

Since 2013, Bestival has made great progress in reducing fossil fuel dependency and they work closely with their energy suppliers to service their somewhat awkward shaped site with maximum efficiency.

The length of the festival site makes the power supply contract a complex issue and as it is considered, “too big for a single contractor,” they use different suppliers for the arena, the showspace and the campsite.

In 2013 and 2014, Midas Productions UK provided power the campsites and at the Tomorrow’s World zone — an area where the Bestival wanted to focus on promoting a ‘fun, sustainable, inspirational future’. Midas were able to monitor and measure power use over the first year and make changes to improve energy efficiency performance in the following year.

Due to the power efficiencies measures taken and the reduction in diesel generators used on campsites, from 2013 to 2014 overall red diesel use was reduced and biodiesel use significantly increased. In 2013, red diesel measured in at 108,000 litres, which dropped to 97,500 litres in 2014. Biodiesel use increased from 16,500 litres in 2013, to 21,239 litres in 2014.

Bestival have found that the biggest users of fuel are the production sets for the stages and that in order to create the greatest efficiencies in powering them they need to have accurate specifications in order to plan the best generator configurations and timings. This requires committing suppliers to accurate requirements, although their experience is that suppliers are not always keen to “tighten up on spec,” due to the fear of power failure to the stage at times of peak power requirement, possibly because while connection sizes are easier to pin down actual loading is harder to ascertain.

Bestival are learning from such experiences and continue to work closely with their suppliers to measure and record power and diesel use as a key tool in creating future reductions. There focus is on efficient site design and they engage with their audience in green initiatives wherever possible.

Thanks to Bestival and Midas UK for the information in this case study.

Gardens at Boom Festival

Boom Festival

An Innovative Off-grid Festival

Boom is a biannual electronic and world music festival based in Portugal, with an audience capacity of 33,333. Boom Festival began in 1997 as a psychedelic trance music festival, but has now diversified to include a range of DJs, live music and visual arts performances.

Boom is powered by a mix of off-grid photovoltaic panels, diesel generators and a 100kW waste vegetable oil (WVO) generator. Boom has won the Greener Festival Excellence Award four times (2008, 2010, 2012 & 2014), and in 2010 won the YOUROPE Green & Clean Festival of the Year; which led to Boom becoming a participant in the United Nations Music & Environment Initiative.

As well as using renewable and energy efficient technology, Boom Festival is committed to the energy management practices of conducting energy audits and power demand assessments, before and during the festival, and continually auditing and reviewing generator sizes. Boom has a sustainability director who oversees an off-grid project manager and several electrical managers. Efficiencies in energy planning and generation meant they used 40% less energy in 2014 compared to the 2012 edition of the festival. In the 2016 edition, they have almost doubled the lighted areas (using predominantly LEDs), but thanks to efficiency measures their lighting energy consumption will stay the same as 2014.

In 2008 Boom collected and re-used 45,000 litres of WVO, which was used to feed their generator as well as three of their fleet vehicles. Their pioneering Your Oil Is Music project — through which waste oil is collected from local towns — ensures a local supply of renewable energy as well as engagement with the local community.

Boom festival uses 40 kWh of solar energy, which is produced onsite, and is in the process of transitioning from diesel to even more off-grid photovoltaic energy. Their largest photovoltaic array comprises 18 panels, all following the tilt of the sun, and producing 13kw per hour per day. ‘Boom Off-Grid’ is a project that was developed in 2012, in partnership with the local organisation BioEspaço, to increase Boom’s energy efficiency: it includes integrating technologies such as solar irrigation systems, LED lighting and inverters.

The area in which Boom takes place, known as Boomland, is home to around 12 long-term residents and the onsite renewable technology is a permanent feature in the community. The residents spend the 23 months between festivals living entirely on renewables, and creating an energy surplus for the next festival.

100% of all water used at Boom is biologically treated and reused onsite for agricultural irrigation. In 2016, Boom’s permanent onsite gardens will use 25% recycled water and composted organic materials. The festival is commissioning 350 dry-toilet units that are fitted with bio-filters meaning they produce no waste.

The whole of Boomland is under a Holistic Management plan that integrates the presence of the public as a technical positive impact in the local soil biota. Besides the people, domestic animals such as sheep and cattle are used to increase soil fertility and forest regeneration. In 2015, 600 new trees were planted in Boomland and many thousands more in partnership with Ecocentro Ipec in Brazil.

Thanks to Boom Festival for providing the information for this case study.

Midas Productions

Waste Vegetable Oil is the Golden Touch for Bestival

Founded at the turn of the millennium, Midas Productions has been the power broker for biodiesel, running its generators exclusively on locally sourced waste vegetable oil.

Bestival is a prime example of the company’s capacity to turn a large-scale event on to WVO. Organisers Rob and Josie de Bank have been pushing a green agenda since the festival started in 2004 and Midas moved beyond the campsites to the Tomorrow’s World arena last summer, its second year at the festival, where the focus, aptly, is on a ‘fun, sustainable, inspirational future’.

Crucially, Midas’ continued investment in kit means it can accommodate its ever-busier contract diary, servicing events either side of Bestival and still hitting the tight deadline on the Isle of Wight, by way of example. “We are scrupulous in our priorities as a business, always putting money into generators, mains and distro, so we can continue to deliver in terms of time and quality,” Midas Director, Dave Noble, said.

Bestival Site Manager, Christina Von Bonin, is quick to praise the Midas touch. “It has dispelled the rumours that ‘bio-diesel doesn’t work’ or ‘the generators clog up’ and while the fuel is a bit more expensive than red diesel, we would certainly like to increase the amount we use, in small steps year-on-year,” she said. “It’s easy to work with Midas too, because it’s team is flexible, easy to get on with and straight talking.”

The complexity of the Bestival site means the contract is split between two suppliers, with Midas currently responsible for some 30per cent of the site. But the balance of power is shifting.

recycling at OYA

Øya

Large-scale festival powered by hydroelectricity from the grid

Øya is a music festival in Norway that has been running since 1999. For the last 2 years it has taken place in Tøyenparken, a green space in the city centre of Oslo and attracts approximately 70,000 audience members over four days.

Øya’s aims to be a pioneer of green events: leading by example and inspiring fellow promoters, businesses and audience members. Øya embeds sustainable and resource-efficient thinking across all of its operational activities, including: power, waste, food, transport, promotional materials and even toilet paper. Øya has received a multitude of awards, including two ‘Green’N’Clean’ awards, and ‘A Greener Festival’ award for the previous six years. Every year over 90% of the food served at the festival is organic. Local produce is chosen when possible, and is preferably bought directly from the local farmers. There are always vegan or vegetarian alternatives.

In 2010, Øya switched from diesel generators to exclusively grid/mains power, which is 98% renewable-derived (mainly through Norway’s hydroelectricity generation) and has removed virtually all on-site emissions. The switch was implemented gradually, with a mix of generators and mains power in 2009. It required a major investment in new infrastructure for the festival, which the Øya was able to undertake through a partnership with the municipality of Oslo and their main sponsor at the time, Hafslund (a Norwegian power company who continue to supply the festival through the grid today).

Øya also made significant year-on-year electricity consumption reductions including a 9% reduction between 2011 and 2012, and a further 22% between 2012 and 2013. These energy reductions are the result of a variety of efficiency projects and awareness-raising campaigns with staff, volunteers and external vendors. Øya has integrated energy efficiency within the festival’s technical operations by rationalising the size of light and sound mixing tables, and using LED lighting and LED based strobe lights wherever possible.

In cooperation with Hjellnes Consult (consulting firm) and Nature and Youth (Øya’s main environmental partner), Øya conducts energy-awareness tours during the course of the festival. The main office in which Øya’s staff work throughout the year also carries ‘green office’ certification.

Thanks to the help of volunteers from Nature and Youth, who sort through every single bag of waste from the festival by hand, they are able to recycle about 70% of the waste from the festival into 15 different fractions each year. This saves the environment from CO2 emissions equivalent to what 35,000 cars emit every year.

Many thanks to Oya for the information for this case study.

oyafestivalen.com

Secret Garden Party

The Secret to Saving Money

Secret Garden Party has been running since 2004, but in recent years has been increasing efforts to find alternatives to diesel generators for running this 30,000 capacity independent music and arts festival in Huntingdon.

They’re one of the big names signed up to Energy Revolution, the industry-wide collaboration to tackle climate change through the audience’s contributions to renewable energy, supported by Powerful Thinking. As well as this initiative to reduce festival emissions, they are mixing up the energy supply on site to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. In SGP’s recent 10th year, Firefly installed part of the festival’s power infrastructure, providing cleaner and greener alternative energy in the form of hybrid, solar and some biodiesel generators.

This consisted, specifically, of:

  • Cygnus Hybrid Power Generators (5 x 24kVA; 6 x 8kVA; 12 X 1.2kVA – with tower light)
  • 30 x 540W solar fold arrays to form a 16kWp solar system.

These solar arrays powered 12 of Firefly’s Cygnus Tower Lights and fed into a number of the Hybrid Power Generators, storing the power to be used after nighfall.

  • 8 Pyxis Power Packs, 12 Km of LED festoon lighting and over 100 LED floods
  • 15 Biodiesel Generators (3 x 165kVA; 2 x 100kVA; 2 x 60kVA and 8 x 20kVA)

The energy from the this kit provided power for the production village including the site office and event control, crew catering facilities and bar, all campsite power including campsite caterers and security, all campsite lighting, lighting across the whole site and a large proportion of the entertainment fields.

A total of 3,826 hours of diesel generator run time was saved by having hybrid systems – a total of around 50% of total run time. This use of hybrid technology reduced diesel dependency by 10,285 litres. On top of that, this new diverse system saved Secret Garden Party £7,713, and reduced overall carbon emissions for the festival by a staggering 24 tonnes.

Green Street Catering

Gas and cost saving techniques for catering aren’t just hot air.

Green Street Catering came to dramatically increase their energy efficiency when they realised just how much money was being lost due to the inefficient use of fuels in their service at festivals and outdoor events in the UK. Tim Spence, of Green Street Catering, realised that only four or five hours of the day required all the gas cooking facilities to be on, out of the eighteen hour trading day. Staff were re-trained to be vigilant in only igniting new wok burners when other burners were at full capacity, and to not have them all running all throughout the day as they had done previously. This saved an estimated £6,000 in one summer, which is equal to the cost of a pitch for a food trader at a large festival. This new approach, including setting new standards as well as retraining staff, more than halved gas consumption and costs at Green Street Catering.

Green Street Catering were even winners of an award for best idea for reducing energy and water use, as part of the Green Traders Award 2010 at Glastonbury run by Greenpeace, with the help of NCASS (the Nationwide Caterers Association). Green Street Catering are a prime example of just how important energy efficiency and staff engagement and participation are in improving sustainability in energy provision at festivals and outdoor events.