Sign Builder Illustrated - May 2008 - (Page 60)

Notes About Neon To start with one issue that’s pretty clear in regard to neon signage, Lee Hewitt, UL principal engineer - signs and lighting, says that a key change in the code was the addition of the requirement for neon transformers and power supplies to be provided with secondary ground fault protection (SGFP). Hewitt explains that neon transformers and power supplies provide a high-voltage output to energize the neon tubes. If there’s a failure of the insulation in the high-voltage secondary wiring or splices (and there’s a grounded surface nearby), an arc will occur between the point of failure and the grounded surface. Prior to the requirement for secondary ground fault protection, the power source could maintain the arc for sufficient time to cause combustible material in the area to ignite. The solution was the addition of SGFP circuitry that will sense an arcing fault to ground and promptly shut down the neon transformer or power supply, thereby stopping the arcing. “The result has been a significant improvement,” Hewitt says. While the change in requirement actu- ally came about on September 3, 1998, when UL 48 Standard for Electric Signs began requiring all neon signs to use transformers and power supplies with secondary ground fault protection, Hewitt notes that the change wasn’t instantaneous since the requirement applied to new signs and didn’t require retrofitting old neon signs with the new neon transformers or power supplies. “Due to the long life of neon signs, there may still be a few out there that need to be replaced, but this has been steadily accomplished,” he says, adding that this was perhaps the most significant code change affecting signs in the past years. Going Green With regard to other requirements that might affect signs, Jim Richards, a staff engineer at UL who is currently working with the sign industry and the California Energy Commission, remarks that federal regulations in the works would largely phase out the use of incandescent bulbs in signs. “These bulbs are extremely inefficient,” Richards says. “The amount of power needed to produce visible light is pretty high, and much of the energy I want a free subscription to Sign Builder Illustrated Go to www.signshop. com/subscribe to request a new subscription or change your address. 60 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

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