Offering outstanding energy efficiency & reduced carbon emissions. Enlighten smart posters are a sustainable communication solution that qualifies for ECAs ( Enhanced Capital Allowances)
Energy efficient smart posters
Greener ways to spread the word and reduce energy costs
Smart posters use near field communications (NFC) to talk to the growing number of suitably-enabled smart phones via radio waves: passers-by simply ‘swipe’ a clearly identifiable NFC tag embedded into the poster, and data is ‘beamed’ to their phone.
Not only do smart posters offer a greener way forward for information delivery, by reducing the need for wasteful printed materials, but Enlighten smart posters take going green one step further by utilising environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies, with many recyclable components.
LED illumination and ECA energy saving scheme
For example, Enlighten’s illumination systems use highly efficient LED lighting which offers a 50,000-hour lifetime. Not only does this offer savings to the end user in terms of reduced energy bills, end-customers in the UK can also claim enhanced tax relief under a scheme that encourages businesses to invest in equipment less harmful to the environment. The government’s Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECA) energy scheme allows businesses to claim 100% capital allowance in the first year on the cost of the LED element, which includes power supply and labour time – including travel – to fit the LED into the sign. Tax relief is also available when converting signs from fluorescent to a suitable LED system.
Enlighten plans to go even greener with an entirely solar powered smart poster illumination system scheduled for introduction later in 2012.
Smart posters: fit and forget technology
Taking cost saving and carbon footprint reduction even further, Enlighten’s LED lighting technology is also effectively ‘fit and forget’: there are no maintenance costs during the lifetime of the LED lighting system. With LEDs which offer close to six years’ life, compared with T2 tubes used in more conventional signage systems, this represents considerable reductions in both man hours and travel costs.
Smart posters: recycled components
While it’s important to bear in mind that it’s only the lighting that’s eligible under the ECA scheme, many display components can often ultimately be recycled, such as acrylic front panels, and the majority of components in use on the Enlighten smart poster system are made from Foamulux – a material that has already been recycled before being turned into smart poster display units.
NFC-enabled smart phones are already being rolled out as a means of instantly paying for goods and services, and this is opening up the door for widespread use of smart posters as the greener way to really interact with passers-by.
The carbon trust
Download the Carbon Trust’s guide to equipment eligible for ECA (Enhanced Capital Allowances) below: