TG4’s philosophy is to do more with less – this ideology has been actioned through their efficient use of energy and ‘green’ project planning.

Results

  • 571

    lights upgraded to LEDs

  • 68%

    annual energy savings

  • 60,000kg

    of CO2 emissions avoided p.a

Key achievements

Significant lighting upgrade project

148,000 kWh annual energy savings

The project

TG4 manage their energy use on a day-to-day basis using an Energy Management System. TG4’s progressive approach to ensure its energy impact on the environment is minimal, has been to integrate energy management with energy efficiency projects and renewable energy technologies.

In 2019, TG4 implemented a significant lighting upgrade project. A total of 571 standard CFL and halogen spotlight fittings were replaced with LEDs.

The total annual energy savings from this upgrade was 148,000 kWh representing a 68% reduction in energy use. Through implementation of these measures, the company have avoided over 60,000 kg of CO2 emissions per annum.

"TG4 and our SEAI partners are delighted with the savings in power and carbon footprint reduction resulting from our building wide LED lighting retrofit project. TG4 is fully committed to playing its part in achieving the targets set out in the Climate Action Plan." – Neil Keaveney, Director of Technology, TG4

What’s next?

TG4 has just announced, that from January 2021, it will require all productions commissioned by the broadcaster to use the albert carbon calculator to monitor a production’s carbon footprint.

The calculator was first used  in the UK in 2011 at the BBC and was adapted for use in Ireland in 2019. It aims to give production companies an understanding of the environmental impact of their work and ultimately reduce their carbon footprint.

TG4 is the first Irish broadcaster to introduce this as a mandatory requirement.

Energy efficiency in the public sector

The seventh Annual Report on Public Sector Energy Efficiency Performance is out now and was prepared for the Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications by SEAI. It is set in the context of Ireland’s EU and national commitments and wider climate change goals, whereby a target of 33% energy efficiency improvement is to be achieved by all Irish public bodies (as defined in SI 426 of 2014) by end of 2020.

Public bodies are required to report annual energy efficiency data to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) which manages the reporting process on behalf of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).

Read the report in full