One thing you might notice is our enthusiasm for your signage to use LED lighting. It has so many benefits for your business. Lower energy usage, lasts much longer, and easier to recycle too. But in a few months’ time, fluorescent tubes will no longer be available and your choice of lighting for your signage will become considerably more defined. Which brings us to the question above; is the clock ticking with your signage?
Say Farewell To Fluorescent Lighting
Back in mid-2021 the Government announced plans to bring the sale of all T5 and T8 to an end in September 2023. This is a result of a change in the Restrictions of the use of Hazardous Substances Directive, or RoHS, which will ban the use of mercury in lighting products. There are a couple of temporary exemptions to this by the way, but they apply only to some specialist types of lights. So they are extremely unlikely to apply to any retail signage in use.
This is all part of a drive to lower the carbon footprint of lighting within businesses, and make it effectively Net Zero by 2050. Fluorescent lighting still makes up about 40% of the installed base. So there is still a lot of signage out there using fluorescent lighting. And those signs could be cheaper to run, more reliable and better for the environment.
So What Do You Do?
The obvious question you should first ask is what type of lighting is installed within your signage. As a general rule of thumb, the older your sign the more likely it will contain fluorescent lighting. Which means as we near the ban in September it will become increasingly harder to replace T5 or T8 tubes when they fail.
There are two ways to check what sort of lighting your signage uses. First, the documentation from your signage provider should state what sort of lighting technology they have installed. In case you can’t find the paperwork, then you can contact your sign maintenance provider and ask them. If you don’t have a company maintaining your signs, then you really must find someone straightaway; you are legally responsible for the upkeep of your signage, and you are legally obliged to have them cared for by someone capable of this.
Start Planning
Once you have found out your signage contains fluorescent lighting, the nest step is to start planning an upgrade. That doesn’t have to be as scarily complex or time-consuming as it may sound. Here at Cygnia for example, we have a huge amount of experience in changing old signage lighting to LED technology. And the good news is it may even cost you very little indeed.
Stop The Clock Ticking With Your Signage
The important thing to do is get on with sorting your lighting now. One thing to remember is the ban won’t prevent you using your signage as it is. But it does mean your sign could very quickly look dim and unattractive. And that will happen just as the nights are drawing in towards Christmas. And you won’t be able to simply fit replacement tubes.
Get Expert Advice
You can of course get in touch with us and ask about how you can have your signage lighting upgraded to an LED system. With our network of engineers across the UK we are best placed to help you make your signage lighting brighter, more efficient and better for the environment. And when the time comes, The clock won’t be ticking with your signage.