Energy efficiency touches just about everything we do these days. It’s not only important because of the need to conserve the energy that we use in terms of an en ecological imperative, but also because it can save you a significant amount of energy and also give you the opportunity to tout your company’s environmental friendliness as well. But, all of this only works if you pay attention to the energy that you are using just as closely as you pay attention to the budget for your trade show exhibit.
So, how do you make sure that you can integrate energy efficiency into your exhibit design without breaking the bank? After all, high-efficiency lighting and other technologies may be very energy efficient and capable of providing cost savings for this reason, but that is usually only after they are used over a longer period of time. The initial outlay for these energy efficient technologies is often much higher.
The key is to balance cost savings and energy savings. Unless, you are trying to run your entire trade show exhibit off of one small solar panel or other very small energy source in an isolated location, you probably don’t need to spend thousands on the most efficient lighting and devices. You should however, focus on energy efficiency when choosing lighting in particular. This will allow you to brand your trade show exhibit as environmentally friendly and not seem disingenuous or be broke at the end of the day.
The best way to do this is to follow the government’s energy star program. Energy star was started in 1992 and it certifies the efficiency of all kinds of lighting, devices and appliances. The idea was to create a voluntary standard that would publicize the energy efficiency of various devices so that consumers could make informed and intelligent decisions.
In terms of improving the energy efficiency of your trade show exhibit and integrating those improvements into your exhibit design, you will probably be looking primarily at two types of technology: lighting and displays/kiosks. When shopping for both of these products for your exhibit, try to choose ones which an energy star label which demonstrates that the manufacturer meets the energy star requirements for energy efficiency.
If you use all energy star compliant devices and lighting in your trade show exhibit, you can use the logo in your marketing materials to demonstrate that your company is serious about energy conservation and cares about ecological soundness. This is a very popular strategy for marketing a business and can provide concrete results for your bottom line in addition to helping the environment as well.