How Energy Efficient is Digital Signage?

Digital signage might boost engagement, but is it energy efficient?! The short answer is “yes”! There are many variables in calculating energy consumption and costs, but as an approximate guide, a digital signage solution consisting of a 50-inch System-on-Chip Display (SoC) running 24/7 with a cloud-based content management system consumes around 120 kWh, costing £55–60 per month.

Think of all the ink, paper and printing machinery that it takes to make traditional marketing collateral, like flyers, posters and billboards. With digital signage, you don’t need any physical collateral, and the operational costs are generally low. 

Cloud-based digital signage is especially energy efficient, requiring no on-premise servers or on-going in-person maintenance. The only energy consumption considerations you have to factor in are the running costs of your displays and/or media players and these are typically low.

Let’s take a deeper dive into why digital signage can support a more sustainable communications strategy, and what you can do to further optimise its efficiency.

Why are Content Management Systems (CMS) Efficient?

Digital signage software or content management systems (CMS) offer one of the most efficient ways to create, manage and schedule content.

• Monthly Energy Consumption: 80-160kWh.

• Monthly Energy Costs: £50–70.
• Lifespan: Software licences can run indefinitely; display hardware typically 5–7 years (43,800–61,320 hours).

These all-in-one systems often come with:

• App libraries with subscription and free content tools to create content.
• Ready-made templates, like menu board templates you can just fill in.
• Advanced remote scheduling to avoid in-person manual uploading.
• APIs to enable integrations with current business systems.

Are On-Premise or Cloud-based CMS Solutions More Efficient?

On-premise CMS

On-premise content management systems are ideal for highly regulated environments, enabling I.T teams to tailor software and networks to specific needs. 

However, they also require dedicated servers, storage devices and networking equipment, which makes them less energy efficient than their cloud-based alternatives.

Furthermore, they incur extra energy costs, requiring specialist cooling systems or air conditioning to keep the hardware sufficiently cool.

Depending on the scale and configuration, a typical on-premise server setup can consume between 500 to 1,500 watts per hour. 

Cloud-based CMS

Offering a secure out-of-the-box solution, cloud-based solutions ensure greater efficiency, requiring no on-site servers, storage devices, networking systems or specialist cooling.

Cloud-based solutions, like Signagelive provide:

• Data center efficiency – utilising shared large-scale data centers optimised for efficiency.
• Remote servicing and updates – minimising per business carbon footprint.
• Scalability – requiring no overhaul of your existing infrastructure, as your network grows.

Which Digital Signage Displays are the Most Energy Efficient?

The energy efficiency of individual displays is generally determined by the kind of screen technology they use.

LED Displays

• Energy consumption: 80–120 W (approx. 60–90 kWh/month if 24/7).*
• Lifespan: 5.7–11.4 years (50,000–100,000 hours).

LED displays offer a cost-effective and efficient solution, ensuring brighter on-screen imagery, as well as long-lasting operation. Instead of relying on a separate backlight to make on-screen images visible, they use light-emitting diodes to produce light for each individual pixel. This reduces the displays’ overall energy consumption, as well as heat and component stress.

MicroLED Displays

• Energy consumption: 50–100 W (approx. 40–70 kWh/month if 24/7).*
• Lifespan: 11.4 years (100,000 hours).

While more expensive than most LED displays, MicroLED screens are also backlight-free. They offer the most energy efficient technology, utilising tiny self-emitting diodes, which consume less power and heat.

OLED Displays

• Energy consumption: 90–150 W (approx. 70–110 kWh/month if 24/7).*

• Lifespan: 3.4–5.7 years (30,000–50,000 hours).

Backlight-free, OLED displays use organic light-emitting diodes, so every individual pixel can produce its own light. This enables OLED displays to produce deeper, more nuanced blacks and spectacular on-screen colour contrasts. However,the organic materials tend to consume more power and degrade faster over time, making them less energy efficient than LED and MicroLED displays.

QLED Displays

• Energy consumption: 120–200 W (approx. 90–150 kWh/month if 24/7).*
• Lifespan: 5.7–6.8 years (50,000–60,000 hours).

QLED panels are enhanced with a quantum-dot layer, which improves on-screen colour accuracy, brightness and vividness. However, these displays are still essentially LCD panels with backlights, so they do consume more power than many other screen technologies.

LCD Displays

• Energy consumption: 150–250 W (approx. 110–180 kWh/month if 24/7).*
• Lifespan: 3.4–6.8 years (30,000–60,000 hours).

LCD displays are designed with a backlight – a liquid crystal layer that blocks or lets through light to make on-screen imagery visible. While they are often cheaper than other screen technologies, their backlight design makes them the least efficient display type.

How Energy Efficient are Media Players?

Media Players are devices designed to play digital signage content, like video, audio or images on a screen, decoding and outputting media files to selected displays.

• Energy costs: £3–5/month (15–25 W typical draw).
• Lifespan: 5–7 years (43,800–61,320 hours).

How Energy Efficient are System-on-Chip Displays (SoC)?

System-on-Chip displays are essentially screens with built-in media player functionality. They are generally considered efficient, reducing the need for additional hardware.

• Monthly energy cost: £55–60.*

Lifespan: 5–7 years (43,800–61,320 hours) (screen); SoC board itself 3–5 years (26,280–43,800 hours).

Are System-on-Chip Displays or Media Players More Efficient?

This depends on the requirements of your digital signage project. For smaller installations that require less processing power, SoCs are likely to offer the most energy and cost-efficient solution, offering two-in-one hardware functionality.

For larger projects that require more processing power to run 24/7 high-resolution or HTML content, dedicated media players are likely to offer better energy efficiency over the long-term.

With media players, you have:

• Tougher, industrial grade components (SSD storage, fanless cooling, hardened casing).
• Multiple display outputs for video walls or multi-zone signage.
• 4K/8K playback with smooth, hardware-accelerated video rendering.
• The opportunity to swap them out, without having to replace screens.

What are the Differences in Energy Efficiency between Indoor and Outdoor Digital Signage?

Outdoor digital signage consumes more power, as it’s designed with additional features to overcome climate and environmental challenges.

These include:

• Higher brightness levels – 2,000-7,000 nits for readability in sunlight.
• Larger screen sizes of up to 225-inches or more for billboard visibility.
• Robust cooling or heating systems to maintain optimal operating temperatures.
• Weatherproof enclosures that protect against rain, dust and wind.
• Anti-glare and protective coatings that may reduce light efficiency.

How to Maximise the Efficiency of Your Displays?

There are many ways to boost the efficiency of your displays. Here are just a few:

• Opt for LED or MicroLED display technology.
• Choose enterprise 24/7 displays for commercial operation.
• Select displays with automatic brightness adjustment.
• Activate sleep/standby modes.
• Schedule power offs.

How to Optimise the Efficiency of Your Media Players?

Reduce the power consumption of your media player by:

• Investing in tougher, enterprise, fanless models.
• Reducing brightness.
• Enabling power-saving modes.
• Using efficient video codecs.
• Scheduling automatic sleep or shutdowns.
• Choosing solid-state storage.

Ready to invest in ultra-efficient and long-lasting digital signage? Reach out to find out how we can help boost your digital communications AND overall carbon footprint.

*Estimates based on a 50-inch display running 24/7. Actual values may vary by size, brightness, and usage.