How Do Incandescent Exit Signs Rank in Energy Efficiency?
Posted on 11. Jul, 2010 by keith in Exit Sign Maintenance
The energy quality of incandescent exit signs can be deceiving. Currently, most U.S. commercial buildings still use incandescent exit signs, which naturally brings the question: in the green age, why would so many companies use incandescent signs if they had a poor efficiency rating? The answer: they have a warped sense of investment. Incandescent exit signs are the least energy efficient exit signs on the market. But for many companies, investing in something means using until the end of its lifespan. It’s a pilgrim’s mentality, and one that can cost a company thousands of unnecessary dollars when it comes to sticking with incandescent exit signs, which are also the most expensive exit signs to operate.
To learn how much incandescent signs will cost you, it pays to take a look at some hard data. Over the course of its roughly 20 year lifespan, an incandescent sign racks up the following costs: $25 for purchase; $80 to install, $350 in electricity; $300 in lamp cost; $450 in lamp replacement labor; $220 in batteries; and $40 in battery replacement labor. That’s a total of $1,450. Multiply by 100—a not uncommon number of exit signs to find in a commercial facility—and your looking at $72,500 to operate exit signs for a decade. Comparatively, operating 100 electricity and maintenance-free photoluminescent exit signs for ten years costs $11,100, or just the purchase price of the signs.
Not much attention is given to the energy efficiency of exit signs. Unlike inefficient HVAC systems and interior lighting systems, inefficient exit signs won’t cost you five or six figures a year in unnecessary energy costs. But for companies that want to become as energy efficient as possible, the type exit signs they use should be of concern. As an example of how much you can save by getting rid of incandescent signs, energy efficiency research shows that companies that replace 100 incandescent signs with 100 photoluminescent signs can save roughly $3,700 a year in energy costs alone.
