Many of our customers ask us why we choose LED lighting for our lightbox signs. LED lighting has made big leaps and bounds over the past several years in terms of lifespan, affordability, installation options and more. In fact, LED is quickly becoming the lighting method of choice for many illuminated signs. We now offer Lightbox Cabinet Signs with LED illumination or Fluorescent. Many of our customers are also asking for pricing for LED retrofitting in both lightbox signs and channel letters.
What Are the Benefits of LED Lighting?
Well, there are many benefits of LED instead of Fluorescent lighting, and even more over Neon. In fact, we don’t even sell Neon channel letters anymore. Our Channel letter products are 100% LED and customers have been very happy with them. Neon has so many negatives – breakages, not working in cold weather climates, high electricity costs, high voltage and fire hazards. LED lighting in signs is just so beneficial!
So here are some of the clear reasons for choosing our LED Lightbox signs versus Fluorescent Lightbox signs:
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- Bulb Lifespan – LED Lighting for signs last around 50,000 hours versus 10,000 hours for Fluorescent bulbs. This can save you hundreds in maintenance costs over several years. The average cost for a trip out to replace a bulb or repair a ballast can be between $150 – $500 per service call. With LED Lighting, burnouts are few and far between and repairs can be done onsite quickly by simply snipping out the non-working LED and replacing it. Our LED Lightboxes carry a 5 Year Warranty on the LEDs and Power Supplies from the manufacturer.
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- Energy Savings – LED lighting saves 30% on your electric bill over fluorescent and considerably more over neon. That can amount to hundreds or thousands of dollars over the life of a sign.
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- Lower Voltage – LED runs on low voltage and therefore is safer than other lighting methods. Low heat from the LED lights reduces fire hazards and can even save you on insurance costs versus a neon sign.
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- Instant On – No more waiting for your sign to Warm Up once turned on. LED lighting burns brighter and has no warm up/start up time. LED lighting also eliminates the half on/not on look created in channel letters by Neon in cold weather climates.
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- Wide Range of Operating Temperatures – LED functions properly in temperatures between -40 degrees to +170 degrees making in great in cold weather climates and even in the dessert.
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- Pricing – The cost of LED’s has come way down over the past several years making it more cost-effective.
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- Options – New options for LED lighting including tube style lighting similar to Fluorescent make it easier to make lighted sign boxes and easier to retrofit old lightbox signs with this new technology.
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- No Mercury – LED lights contain no Mercury which is much better for the environment.
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- Recyclable – LED lights can be recycled.
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- Shallower Cabinets – Narrow cabinet styles are possible with LED lighting technology.
So as you can see, there are so many benefits from LED that it’s hard not to chose it! At this time, LED Lightbox signs are slightly more expensive than standard fluorescent/ballast style boxes, but in time, technology will catch up and make it similar in pricing or less expensive. And, there is no doubt about the electricity cost savings.
Where is LED Lighting Used in the Sign Industry?
There are currently so many sign options that utilize LED technology including LED changeable reader board signs, lightbox signs, channel letter signs, indoor light cabinets and displays, goose neck lighting and other outdoor sign lighting. This option is Greener, safer, cheaper and just overall better than old lighting methods. This marquee style set of channel letters uses LED light bulbs which makes the sign safer and cooler.
If you currently have Neon lighted channel letters, conversion to LED is very cost-effective and will allow you to save hundreds on electricity costs while increasing the life of your channel letters, reducing service calls, and creating a safer sign. Call today for information on LED Sign Lighting retrofits. We will gladly get you an estimate on the cost.