When shopping for channel letters, it’s becoming the smart choice to specify LED illumination instead of neon. Channel Letter is the sign industry term for those electrically-illuminated signs you’ll see above many retailers’ doors. The term “channel letters” was coined because they are formed with aluminum and plastic as individual letters, and because they are hollow, with an internal channel formed to accommodate the illumination, either via neon, or via LED’s.
A few years ago, neon was the only practical choice for channel letter illumination because LED’s were cost-prohibitive and their illumination was not as sharp as neon. But today, neon’s big price advantage is nearly gone, and its illumination advantage has been trimmed. Most market factors now favor LED’s over neon.
LED’s biggest advantage is their little use of electricity. LED’s use 80% to 90% less electricity than neon, leading to several advantages:
1. Fewer transformers are needed to illuminate the channel letters
2. Fewer transformers means fewer vulnerable parts that might need service later, meaning less future maintenance and fewer service calls
3. Less electricity use means lower operating temperatures. Far fewer birds and insects are attracted to the letters than with warm neon, so fewer wildlife will try to make their homes there. It’s not uncommon in cold climates to find bird nests in or on channel letters. Once present, birds worsen damage to the sign.
4. The business can save dozens to hundreds of dollars monthly on electricity, depending on the channel letters’ size, their number of hours of illumination, and the locale’s electric rates
5. LED’s last many times longer than neon. 50,000 to 100,000 operating lamp life for LED’s is not unusual
6. If a single LED in the array expires, its loss is barely noticeable. If a single neon tube expires, an entire letter may be darkened
Call us or email us today to see if lighted Channel letters is right for your business!
quotes.signmasters@sbcglobal.net
903-526-5657
