Cenareo connects to EcoWatt for responsible communication

In order to prevent power cuts due to high network voltage, the application EcoWatt was launched in October 2022. Intended for individuals, businesses and communities, it works with the Cenareo solution to manage a fleet of digital signage screens in a rational manner. In this article, find out how and why Cenareo connects to EcoWatt.

What is EcoWatt?

EcoWatt is a system deployed on metropolitan French territory. It is intended to better manage its electricity consumption in order to anticipate the risks of cuts on the network. The application EcoWatt was developed by the French electricity network operator RTE and Ademe, the Agency for the Environment and Energy Management. Available on the Internet and on mobile, the service EcoWatt looks like the weather forecast for electricity.

It shares the level of electricity consumption of French people in real time, in order to make visible the periods of peak consumption that can cause tensions. By making this information public, the application EcoWatt allows everyone to act by adapting their energy consumption at the right time. Among the actions recommended to consume more responsibly, here are the key measures:

• Reduce public lighting;
• Generalize LED lighting;
• Switch off unnecessary lights;
• Turn off non-essential displays or lights;
• Reduce the heating temperature (19°C or lower);
• Limit energy consumption at the end of the day in unoccupied premises;
• Recharge electric vehicles and postpone certain household uses to off-peak hours.

With a simple color code, consumers are informed of the time slots when the network is most heavily energized thanks to the application EcoWatt. In the event of an alert, they are invited to optimize their consumption by making more responsible choices, in the morning between 8 am and 1 pm and in the early evening from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Why connect the Cenareo solution with EcoWatt?

The content management system dedicated to digital signage Cenareo makes it possible to manage your fleet of screens in a more rational way, in a logic of better use of our resources. In order to register in a eco-responsible approach, the Cenareo solution can be combined with the service EcoWatt very easily thanks to its public API. Thus, it is possible to act in real time to reduce energy consumption and save money. On a daily basis, the Cenareo solution makes it possible to precisely adjust the time slots when the screens are switched on in order to avoid the unnecessary distribution of messages that will not reach their target audience. In a store or in a company's offices, the system controls the switching off of screens at Closure of the premises fully automatically.

Thanks to the connection to the service EcoWatt, the screen network now adapts to the application's forecasts by reducing the brightness of the screens during periods of tension in the electrical network. In order to contextualize the messages and in order to increase their reach and impact tenfold, it is also possible to broadcast preventive content before a tense time slot in order to make its audience aware of eco-friendly actions. Powerful communication tools, digital signage screens then relay messages inviting us to adopt a more responsible position when it comes to our energy consumption.

In business, digital signage screens encourage employees to act in favor of more responsible consumption. The power of attraction and memory of digital signage is beneficial for the success of this type of awareness campaigns. Thanks to a dedicated broadcast loop, it is possible to communicate messages encouraging the reduction of heating temperatures or the fact of turning off unnecessary lights inside the premises during working hours. When EcoWatt signals that the electrical network is on alert and that eco-friendly actions become essential in order to avoid load shedding, the digital signage screens automatically turn off. The screen park will turn on again at the end of the period of extreme tension, to participate in collective efforts to save electricity during the overload of the network.

How does that work?

The mobile application EcoWatt allows you to check at a glance the level of electricity consumption in France, crossed with that of production and possible imports. The state of the network is represented in the form of a map of metropolitan France, in real time. The application also shows forecasts for +3 days. The color code EcoWatt illustrates the voltage of the network in order to best guide consumers in their electricity management:

• Green: the electrical network is functioning normally;
• Orange: the electrical network is tight, it is advisable to reduce consumption;
• Red: the electrical network is experiencing extreme tension, the use of eco-friendly actions is necessary.

However, the red signal does not necessarily indicate that the risk of a power outage is imminent. If each citizen reduces their consumption on time, load-shedding power outages will not occur. Otherwise, targeted outages will occur for a maximum of 2 hours. The application EcoWatt also allows you to subscribe to the “outage alert” system. This device allows you to be notified 72 hours in advance in the event of a risk of power cuts in your region to start reducing consumption. If efforts have not been sufficient, users will be notified at 5 p.m., the day before the cuts, of the areas affected by the load shedding.

Thanks to the connection between EcoWatt and the Cenareo solution, digital signage and sustainable development become compatible. The digital signage software pilot the distribution of your content according to the forecasts ofEcoWatt, to make intelligent use of your screen fleet.

Are you interested in digital signage, but want to manage your screens responsibly? With Cenareo, participate in the national effort to consume electricity in an automatic and adapted way.