Spotlight on smart technologies at theatre London’s National Theatre hopes to reduce power use by a sixth at its South Bank site with the introduction of smart technologies.

Energy use in buildings accounts for about half of UK carbon emissions. The National Theatre’s four-phase programme to centrally monitor and control the building’s lighting will help save £100,000 of its £600,000 annual electricity bill.

The first step is to examine overall power use, according to director of development John Rodgers.

“We monitor energy use constantly to find out where efficiencies can be made,” he said.

The National Theatre systems have highlighted the large amounts of electricity being used to light the building’s signature “flytower” ­ and the organisation is now investing in more efficient light-emitting diode (LED) technology.

The next stage is to develop systems to switch off lights in parts of the building that are not being used.

“We are beginning to introduce control systems in toilets, corridors and non-busy areas to turn lights off,” said Rodgers.

Ultimately the majority of the National Theatre’s lights will be replaced by LEDs, which also emit less heat, reducing the load on air-conditioning systems.

The new lighting will be managed by Philips, which has run similar projects at Buckingham Palace and The O2 arena.