Only By Exempting Theatres From These Regulations Can Performances Shine
The European Union is currently reviewing legislation on eco-design which includes lighting. The new regulations, which have been proposed for September 2020, will require a minimum efficiency of 85 lumens per watt and a maximum standby power of 0.5 watt on all light sources, lamps or self-contained fixtures, to be sold in the European Union. As part of this review, an exemption was removed. Without this exemption, the majority of tungsten, arc and LED stage lighting fixtures would no longer be available on the market and venues could be forced to go dark.
Some may question the need for this exemption – if households are having to play their part in moving over to energy efficient bulbs, why shouldn’t theatres and other performance venues?
Of course, the theatre and entertainment industry want to play their part and fully support the sustainability agenda, and are taking steps day-by-day to improve their environmental standards. However, introducing these regulations without having an exemption in place at this juncture will have a considerable negative impact across European entertainment industries, which would far outweigh the positive intentions behind the proposals.
With such a steep climb, there would be a tremendous financial burden on theatres, community halls, churches, schools, and every other performance venue which uses theatrical lighting instruments as part of their shows. Yes, it is true that there is nothing in the new regulations which will require venues to stop using their existing fittings, yet what good is a lamp without a bulb? Once the bulbs can no longer be sold, then the existing fixtures become worthless – not exactly supportive of the principles for a more circular economy. It is not possible to simply buy a complaint LED replacement bulb for a stage light. That’s not how it works. In the entertainment industry, LED lights come as one whole unit. The current cost for one of these high-quality lights is approximately £2,500. If you run a venue with say 300 tungsten sources that need to be replaced overnight, along with the infrastructure that runs them, then the global cost quickly escalates. Likewise, if you run a community hall, own 10 lights, put on 2 shows a year and are used to only spending £20 on a new bulb every now and then, the financial demand of this would be crippling.
If this legislation is introduced as it currently stands, there will only be a limited supply of existing bulbs and once they’re gone they’re gone, leaving behind them an enormous amount of otherwise perfectly functioning scrap metal and glass.
If theatres and venues were to refit their tungsten and arc rigs with the high-quality LED lights required (provided they are available on the market), they would be needing to do so before September 2020. The estimated cost of this transition to the UK theatre industry alone would be £1.2billion.
This is considerable disruption and cost for limited power savings given how entertainment lighting is typically used notwithstanding the enormous amount of waste being generated and electricity and energy being used to manufacture and ship the new fixtures. Surely there is a better way to achieve such energy savings?
But, even if venues were able to afford an overhaul of this magnitude, right now, there are no high-quality LED lighting units on the market that are compliant with these proposals, and so venues will be left with no adequate tools with which to light productions
Another consequence of this is how these regulations will affect the technical elements behind the very productions we witness. Research and technical development over the past decade have enabled significant progress in LED spotlights to make them suitable for use in stage lighting for theatrical productions. However, it is still not possible to replace all Professional Entertainment Lighting Products with LEDs. The currently used tungsten light bulbs allow for a wide spectrum of colour choice which can reliably fade and mix with the rest of a rig – which means all elements of a show can be precisely controlled to the needs of the production. LEDs are now approaching a similar standard, but these developments have all come about organically. The introduction of these proposals would stifle this innovation and as a result, we would be left with little more than harsh, unflattering floodlights with which to light our productions.
It should also be noted that it is extremely difficult to get LED lights to perfectly dim all the way off in the same manner as traditional lighting, and that for the lighting of live events very small halogen lamps with a diameter of 0.5 centimetres are used to produce a high-power output. Again, for these special lamps, there are currently no available replacements with LED technology
And finally, and probably most importantly, is how all these individual issues join together to affect the artistic vision of the production. Change can be important and perhaps these new conditions will result in visionary directors who take advantage of cold, always on but not very bright lighting – perhaps it could make way for some very bleak plays. Yet the reality is that the technical problems with LED lighting would severely affect the artistic quality of performances; the richness of lighting for a live event lies in the diversity of light sources, colours and intensity. Without it, our world-famous productions would be left flat.
We should all be concerned about these proposals, and although I am reassured to hear that representatives have been in an active and I understand positive dialogue with the European Commission about introducing a narrow technical exemption, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, as the lead department on this issue, needs to be making appropriate representations to relevant European officials. I have already raised this matter myself with the Culture Secretary and I know that this is an issue on his radar, but we need reassurance from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy that this is a priority and that they will do everything possible to help the industry secure this exemption.
We should be proud of the creative arts sector in our country. They do so much to improve our culture and our communities, yet they are at risk from these regulations, both financially and artistically. This was previously recognised and an exemption allowed, I hope that the Government will do everything they can to ensure that this continues and that performances up and down this country are not compromised by poor, inadequate or indeed no lighting at all.