Broadcast Engineering reports that WPEC-TV achieved a considerable reduction in energy consumption by lighting its two HD news sets with LEDs.

"Before removing their existing tungsten light fixtures, director of engineering Paul Russell and his staff measured the total electrical power at 52kW. Once the Litepanels fixtures were installed, the studio lighting draw became 3kW with the studio fully lit. (The decrease in air-conditioning needs resulted in an additional 50 percent savings in energy costs.)...Another factor with LED light fixtures is the expected...diode life. High-wattage tungsten bulbs are good for about 250 hours; LEDs are expected to be good for at least 50,000 hours. Therefore, if the studio is lit 10 hours a day, the LEDs will last well more than 10 years."

The 50% additional energy savings from air conditioning suggests that traditional studio lighting has a PUE of ~1.5., although it may be lower in cooler climates than WPEC's Florida location. LED units were supplied by Litepanels, which will receive this year the first Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award for lighting.

By comparison, I estimate that WPEC's transmitter consumes ~6kW 24/7.

Learn more about broadcasters' energy consumption.