Key features sign companies should be looking for in LED technology
With the cost of energy rising and the demand for sustainability becoming more common place, buyers are more interested than ever in the efficiency and reliability of their illuminated signage. Historically in the signage industry, low-cost LEDs have long been the go-to illumination solution and many of these LEDs are marketed as efficient, however most standard LEDs are no more energy efficient than the fluorescent tubes of the past, when you compare them on lumens per watt. Cheaply constructed LEDs tend to have higher running costs, reduced efficiency, brightness, and even increased failures, across its lifetime. To truly meet the demands of the changing market, LEDs need to be both bright, energy efficient and reliable to provide the best value for money, across the sign’s lifetime.
Our partners SloanLED have been key to helping Applelec Sign meet this demand, through their innovative solutions that maintain the brightness expected by the signage industry but match this with increased efficiency, low running costs and innovative technology, giving customers more than ever before.
Some of the key features to look for in your LED are:
Lumens per watts
One such key feature is lumens per watts. Second and third tier or non-branded standard LEDs tend to be around 70-100 lumens per watts, which gives an indication of how much visible light is emitted for a given amount of electricity used. The higher the lumens per watt, ideally above 100, the more energy efficient the LED is. To achieve this, advanced LED and chip technology is employed to ensure the very best efficacy, driving heat in the correct way to ensure the maximum junction temperature isn’t exceeded. This dramatically improves LED performance, long-term reliability and the maximum efficiency achieved.
Advanced lens technology
Another key feature is advanced lens technology. SloanLED utilises elliptical optic technology as this maximises the light output for luminous and uniformed illumination, even at exceptionally shallow depths. The advantages of these are two-fold, a decrease in overall running costs across the life of the LED, as well as the number of LED modules required to produce the same brightness, saving on manufacturing costs and materials.
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Quality components and extended warranties
The quality of components and extended warranties are another key feature to look for. Low cost, cheaply manufactured LEDs may hit a price point and do the job initially, however, due to the cheaper components, more modules may be needed to achieve the desired output. This increases the energy consumption and running costs across the sign’s lifetime, but also fade quicker. Therefore, extended warranties, such as SloanLED’s 5 and 10-year parts and labour warranties for many of their modules, would be a key factor to consider as this represents the supplier’s confidence in the longevity and quality of the components within their modules.
In embracing these key features, we can begin to meet our industries expectations for bright illuminated signage, that is also sustainable and affordable to run.
Find out more information about what we are doing as your signage trade supplier to create eco friendly signage, from our ECO lightbox to ECO letters and backlighting solutions, as well as what we are doing to become a more sustainable business.