[caption id="attachment_789" align="alignright" width="150"] Neon to LED Conversion - before[/caption] Neon sign operating costs put a serious dent in your profits Neon is so 1950s. Hey when electric power is 3 cents a Kw hour – who cares, but today… it is a lot different. Neon signs deteriorate over the years and require service. The service interruptions, the increasing cost of replacements and the extinction of qualified shop to work on Neon are all working against your old sign. Today’s LEDs are far more reliable, cost effective and available than ever before. Neon-to-LED retrofits are initially more expensive than a repair, but they cut costs and pay for them selves very quickly.

1. Electric Bills. LEDs are about 7-10 times cheaper to run than Neon. While it may be difficult to know exactly how much of your electric bill is going into that sign, it is not trivial. An LED [caption id="attachment_793" align="alignright" width="150"] Neon to LED Conversion - Peal and stick[/caption] conversion will save you money and pay for itself.
2. Service costs. Solid state LEDs rarely fail. When the lights do go out it is normally a short. I wire pulled out of a bundle or a power supply burnt out. These problems pale is contrast to the cost of a Neon transformer or worse – bending a new piece of neon. Old signs have a lot of costs to maintain. Switching to LEDs can stop that cost stream.
3. Safety, Neon is dangerous. It uses 5000 to 17000 volts and that will knock a grown man off a ladder or worse. LEDs use 12 to 24 volts DC. That is much closed to a car battery and much safer.

How does it work? There are 3 parts that need to be changed: The Neon to the LEDs, the high voltage Transformers to the low voltage power supplies and the wiring to bring it all together.

1. The LEDs come in strings. Your old face faces need to be removed, the old Neon comes out and [caption id="attachment_795" align="alignright" width="150"] Neon to LED Conversion - After[/caption] the new LED string goes in. It is a peal and stick system with silicon applied after the LEDs are place. All the existing sides, and faces are retained
2. The power supplies are smaller than the transformers they replace, so it is a direct swap. The power line into the sign is kept and reused.
3. The wiring to connect it can change or we can use the existing high voltage wire. It depends on how easy it is to get out and restring.

Fewer and smaller power supplies are the norm. The LEDs are about the same width as Neon, but they are not as fragile. The job generally takes a day and the savings start immediately. With little or no maintenance and huge reductions in power usage the ROI can be as little as 6 months or as long as a couple of years. Either way, the retrofit pays for itself pretty quickly. What a Brighter, more reliable sign and a better bottom line? Convert Your Sign to LED!! Ready to start? Give us a call Frank Murch Signs for San Diego Frank@signsforsandiego.com 760-730-5118