Starting on September 1, 2022, the Federal Ministry of Economics has prohibited the operation of DooH and digital signage screens between the hours of 10pm and 4pm. This new regulation is in accordance with Germany’s new Energy Saving Ordinance in order to save energy. This is just one of the effects of the ordinance created to combat the country’s ongoing energy crisis. More information can be found here.

Germany is not the only country to enact energy saving measures as a response to the crisis sweeping across Europe. In specific regards to digital signage, Spain has already limited its stores’ use of digital signage and France will follow suit with a similar measure by October. Italy will also discuss an energy savings plan in the coming weeks that is expected to include a similar limit on digital signage hours. Many other European countries have or are creating their own energy savings plans, though at this time they do not directly affect digital signage.

Though adhering to these rules might seem straightforward, it’s not always as easy as pressing the power button on the screens at the front of the store. Digital signage is rarely powered off and different screens have a plethora of different demands to maintain and deal with. Some function on System on a Chip, while others run on external players. Dealing with these different situations for store managers will require additional training and if the measure changes again this problem will only repeat itself. This factor grows exponentially for widespread companies with thousands of screens, in a variety of locations on their network. 

Existing fixes for keeping screens dark at night might not work this time either. Such as scheduling specific content through a content management system - scheduling a blank screen to play automatically from 10pm to 4pm. Under different circumstances, this could be an easy solution to an issue like this. However in this case, it would not be sufficient to comply with the regulation as the German requirement specifically decrees that the displays be turned fully off, rather than simply display blank screens. 

Fortunately, there is a simple and easy solution out there. signageOS makes complying with this ordinance easy. One of the tools in its device management toolset is device scheduling, which provides the ability to schedule any or all devices on a network to turn on and off when needed. This can be set by time of day and day of the week and can function based on a clock connected by the network or based on the devices’ native timers. In other words, the devices don’t even need to be connected to a network to automatically turn on and off. 

These new energy saving measures sweeping Europe can be difficult and complicated, but adhering to this part of them doesn’t have to be. signageOS’ advanced device management toolset can help not just with avoiding steep government fines, but ultimately with saving energy and helping to alleviate some of the strain of Europe’s ongoing energy crisis.