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CBC/Radio-Canada going all LED

CBC/Radio-Canada is accelerating the replacement of incandescent TV production lighting with the LED variety in studios across the country. The initiative, according to CBC/Radio-Canada, will cut energy consumption significantly, reducing the corporation's carbon footprint and saving money in the process.

“This is innovation at its best,” said Hubert T. Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. “In addition to being fiscally and environmentally friendly, this initiative demonstrates the corporation's ability to embrace new ideas and new technologies. In the case of LED lighting, CBC/Radio-Canada finds itself ahead of the pack. We want this now to serve as inspiration for other broadcasters, in the hopes of greening up our industry here in Canada and around the world.”

CBC/Radio-Canada decided to use LEDs on a broadcast set when Senior Lighting Director Brad Dickson pushed to try the technology in designs for a new Radio-Canada news studio in Toronto. The result, says CBC/Radio-Canada, is minimal power consumption, no extra air conditioning required and 50,000 hour bulb life. Radio-Canada studios commissioned in Sherbrooke, Rimouski and Sept-Iles would later follow Dickson’s lead.

The first phase of retrofitting is expected to start paying for itself in less than three years, says CBC/Radio-Canada, adding that the annual net savings generated by the initiative will then be reinvested to fund LED retrofits in additional studios across the country.

June 5, 2010  By Newswire