Are Glow in the Dark Signs a Good Investment?

Whether you are choosing emergency exit signs for a new building or remodeling an old one, you want to make sure you are making the best investment. A year or two down the road of installing them it’s not something you want to revisit because they don’t work properly, require lots of maintenance, or are costing you a ton of money every month to run.

Glow in the dark exit signs are one of the options available on the market today for builders and building owners to consider. But are they a good investment compared to other technologies like LED or tritium? We are offering several considerations when deciding if glow in the dark exit signs are a good investment and the right option for your building.

Comparing Glow in the Dark Exit Signs to Other Exit Sign Technologies

Glow in the dark exit signs are also referred to as self-luminous or photoluminescent exit signs. These signs use phosphor which absorbs light, stores it, and then emits that light at a later time (i.e. a power outage or fire emergency). How does this technology stack up to the other options on the market?

Total Cost Considerations

When it comes to looking at the total cost involved with various emergency exit signs, glow in the dark exit signs offer a lower total cost compared to the others.

Energy Star shares this information as it relates to glow in the dark exit signs compared to LED and incandescent.

• If your building replaced 100 LED exit signs with glow in the dark exit signs you would be looking at an energy cost savings of a little over $450 a year.
• By replacing 100 incandescent exit signs with the photoluminescent option it adds up to an estimated $2,739 a year in energy costs alone.

Beyond the energy savings, consider installation and maintenance costs. Installation of electric exit signs will require power supplies to be run, while the glow in the dark exit signs need to just be screwed into the wall or ceiling per NFPA and OSHA requirements. Testing for 500 electric signs can run between $10,000 and $20,000 per year. Batteries, bulbs, and labor costs can add up quickly. Glow in the dark exit signs requires no testing, no batteries or back-up generators, and only needing to be occasionally dusted off.

Eco-Friendly or Not?

Some technologies like tritium have given glow in the dark exit signs a bad rap. Photoluminescent glow in the dark exit signs is here to put a stop to that. By using a photoluminescent glow in the dark exit sign you are choosing the most eco-friendly exit sign on the market today.

For this reason, they are a great investment in sustainable building. Options like Jessup’s UL924 listed PF100 photoluminescent exit sign and PM100 photoluminescent exit sign are not only easy to install and maintenance-free, but they are recyclable and last up to 25 years without using any electricity.  Builders can earn LEED points for using them and lower the building’s carbon footprint.

Experts in Glow in the Dark Exit Signs

Jessup Manufacturing has long been a leader in photoluminescent emergency exit signs and egress markings. Contact our specialists today to learn more and see what options are available for your building.