Foster's Beer sign: 25 wattsMega Volt, Inc. Neon Cold cathode LED lighting & modules Beyond signs About neon About us
Is Neon Green?
Foster's Beer sign: 25 watts
This sign also uses the older, less efficient magnetic style transformer. With a modern switching supply, power consumption would be reduced even further. Most plug-in neon signs and displays consume 75 watts or less. Some much less. Don't believe claims that neon is an "energy guzzler" - it's simply untrue, and often a ploy to encourage the purchase of a neon-looking product.
Neon is essentially a custom-bent fluorescent tube with long-life, cold-cathode electrodes. Such lamps remain one of the most efficient ways to produce light. Typical neon tubing with conventional transformers run approx 3.0-3.8 watts per foot. Lumens per foot vary depending on color - but for most phosphor colored tubing the range is 180-250 lumens per foot. This is running at a current of 30 ma. Many new neon power supplies labeled as "energy saver" run at 20ma. The lumen output is slightly less, with a 30+% reduction in power consumption. Neon can also be easily dimmed, providing the same energy savings offered by switching to a lower-output product.
Have you heard claims that a product "saves 80 percent over neon"? Ask about the lumen output, and compare the actual watts consumed. Invariably, such a claim means the product has a very low output, and is unsuitable for use without doubling, tripling, or quadrupling the number of lamps/modules.
Lastly, all parts of neon can be 100-percent recycled. Glass, metal, etc. Compare to electronic waste that must be hand-disassembled and much of it simply buried in a landfill.
As mentioned on our LED-neon page, some neon colors are almost astounding in their lifespan and lumen-maintenance with simple, non-toxic materials that are either inert or fully recyclable. Add to this the easy repairability of neon and it's truly an amazingly GREEN product.