How Do Organisers Use Power For Music Festivals?
In the last few weeks on our blog, we’ve elaborated on how our power distros serve certain sectors here at Rubber Box. As we discussed in our first blog in that series, music festivals are amongst our biggest clients. We covered the basics then, but this week we’re going into more depth about how music festivals work, the power setup behind them, and how Rubber Box fits into the equation.
How Do Music Festivals Work?
Given that music festivals are often situated in fields and countryside, most of them lack access to a power grid. Instead, they mostly draw their power from generators. (To use the analogy of a human body, the generators are the heart, the electricity is the lifeblood of a festival, and our power distros are the veins that get it all where it needs to go.) Different events will use different types of generator, depending on the size of the festival and exactly what the power will be used for. As a given, generators will generally power stage sets, sound systems and lighting, but can also be used for things like food stalls, drinks bars, toilet facilities, and temporary fairground rides. They might sound like little things, but trust us – without power, you miss them when they’re gone!
Generators at large-scale events (i.e. those with camping on-site) will often end up providing power for mobile lighting towers strategically constructed around the site. These towers are fantastic at lighting up large areas at once; especially useful for even single-day events, as many music festivals run on until the early hours of the morning. Again, it’s our rubber boxes that play a crucial part in supplying this power!
How Do Festival Organisers Tackle Power Problems?
Power is far from a minor consideration for festival organisers. In fact, it’s one of the five single largest production costs for almost any type of music festival. The estimated quantity of fuel consumed is seen as more or less set in stone for organisers, with little that can be done to reduce it once the festival has actually begun. Instead, all the efficiency measures have to be undertaken in the planning, long before all the generators arrive on-site.
Inefficient generator use is a major issue for festival organisers. They have to take particular care when selecting their generators, as the wrong one for the wrong job could end up being catastrophic. Those that are too small will obviously struggle to provide the necessary power for all the applications needed, while those that are too powerful can even be damaged if they’re consistently running at insufficient capacity. Music festivals generally try to keep their power efficiency to between 70% and 80%, but it’s a careful art.
This Is Where Rubber Box Comes In
The lack of proper power infrastructure is obviously another major challenge for organisers. Without access to the grid, it’s vital that they’re able to rely on solid, dependable power distribution systems. Portable power devices like our rubber boxes are the vital components in this system, providing the missing link between the source of power (the generators) and its final destination (sound stages, speakers etcetera).
What’s more, they need to be able to set up and set down quickly, as the festivals frequently take place on borrowed or rented land. This is again where our power distros shine, having been specifically designed for mobility and ease of use.
As we’ve covered in the past few weeks, music festivals are far from the only applications for our rubber boxes – but hopefully this blog has helped illustrate why they’re so often in demand!
You can browse our full product range here, or call us on 01282 677 910 to discuss your ideas for a bespoke power distribution system. We’re here to help!
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