Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008 - (Page 36)

study by Phil Garvey of the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute at Penn State examines so-called sign lighting standards and then examines the actual output of on-premise sign lighting in the field. The results of this particular study show that on-premise sign lighting is not a negative environmental issue, under any scientific measure. And when you couple the findings of the Environmental Impact study with the next USSC study comparing the performance of sign internal illumination with sign external illumination (Relative Visibility – Internally Illuminated and Externally Illuminated On-premise Signs), it’s clear that if you’re interested in insuring and promoting traffic safety, you actually have to rely on internally illuminated onpremise signage. Part of the trend toward restricting onpremise sign lighting can be attributed (even indirectly) to the efforts of the International Dark-Sky Association. For those readers who haven’t heard of this group, it’s recommended that you become familiar with this organization and its principles. International Dark-Sky Association The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) was incorporated in Arizona in 1987 as a non-profit Section 501(c)(3) organization. Originally founded by a group of scientists and astronomers to help “bring back the night sky,” IDA has evolved into a large membership-based organization that consists of scientists, astronomers, lighting professionals, planners, and vocal local citizens. What first started as a noble idea to help astronomers focus their telescopes onto distant objects in the sky has now become an international group with over 11,000 members worldwide carrying a very powerful, subjective, and emotional message to communities across the United States—that of seeing the stars at night. Initially IDA was devoted to improving outdoor lighting. It wanted to make it more effective and with less spill-over, so that unnecessary light was not affecting astronomical operations in Arizona. International Dark-Sky Association members wanted to help improve lighting design and construction to minimize and control nighttime illumination, so that outdoor lighting could function but have less impact on the night sky. The organization wanted to make the Milky Way more visible to the naked eye. And in a “green” society, we all can applaud these objectives in regard to outdoor lighting. Today IDA is now combining notions of improved and more conservative light design, concerns about glare, mandated changes in light fixture construction, and mandated energy conservation measures to achieve a broader range of goals. At the same time, it should be noted that the organization has established no standards for outdoor lighting through objective research and testing. The “bottomline” for all outdoor illumination: Less lighting and less “bright” lighting. Certain subjective concepts and terms are often offered by IDA: “Light pollution,” “light trespass,” “glare,” and “help promote safety by restricting lighting,” to name a few. All of these terms and concepts have no legal or scientific definition, but they carry a very emotional message to well-meaning local citizens. And the bottom-line for all sign companies is that illuminated signage may be dragged into discussions of “outdoor” or exterior nighttime lighting. The IDA agenda is advanced in two ways: (1.) Advocating limits on overall exterior nighttime lighting, and (2.) Promoting an “energy conservation” agenda. It’s this second item that has the side-effect of eliminating or severely restricting lighting due to mandated energy consumption levels, as we saw in California recently. Signs are generally considered “illumination” unless specifically excluded. The California Examples: California Energy Crisis The battle that occurred in the great state of California over exterior lighting energy standards and signs underscores the need for the sign industry to become active in this area. As a result of the California energy crisis in 2000-2001 (or the “Western Energy crisis”), California Legislature passed a state senate bill that required the California Energy Commission to adopt new California Outdoor Lighting Standards by July 2003; the goal here was to implement energy-efficient standards for outdoor lighting. 36 Sign Builder Illustrated May 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008

Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008 Contents SBI Agenda Quotes & Comments Contributors Costly Concerns Dispatches Sign Show Dateline: Time to Find a New Identity Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks Sign Illumination: It’s Time to Pay Attention Restoring Old Photographs for Digital Printing Price Doesn’t Sell the Signs You Want to Make Architects in LED Codes for Electric Signs: Don’t Get Blindsided! Digital Displays at the Pearl Harbor Museum The Art of Wayfinding Signage Grand Format National Following Traffic Sign Regulations Designs on ADA Signage Painting Professionally SBI Marketplace Imagine-It Graphics

Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.