There is only one type of neon. Glass tubes that are hand bent to a design, offering a unique way to create both art pieces or neon signs, Fully recyclable, long lasting and versatile, neon offers an unrivalled way to liven up any space.
Here at A1deSIGNS – as experts in all things neon – we’re inundated with questions about our specialist subject.
One of the most asked relates to whether neon uses lots of power. So, here’s a technical explainer…
Q. Does Neon use a lot of power?
A. No, power consumption is low, less than your washing machine for the same amount of time.
Let us explain…
The amount of power that is used by a neon sign is relative to the size of the sign, the diameter of the tubing and how many sections the neon is broken up into.
Depending on required light output a single transformer can have a power requirement of between 0.2A @1-2.5kV and 0.93A @10kv for 18ma and [email protected] and 1.22A @10kv from 25mA transformers, this is the tube striking current that is required which drops dramatically once running.
To work out tube transformer requirements, a calibration process is carried out. To estimate the power requirements the process requires; measuring the linear length of tubing, allowing for the number of electrodes in the circuit and then choosing the correct mA output for the diameter of glass and electrodes being used.
The following is true when calibrating a neon sign:
The thinner the tube diameter the less meterage you can run.
The thinner the tube diameter the more intense the light is (brighter).
Electrode shells can only be run at certain milliamps, less mA can be passed through smaller diameter tubes as follows:
10mm (25mA)
13mm (50mA)
16mm (80mA)
18mm (150mA & 250mA)
External influences such as cable lengths can have an effect on power consumption, power consumption of wire wound transformers can be improved greatly (up to 40% reduction) with the use of capacitors.
We hope this answers your question. If you’d like to chat about any of the details we’ve covered or to find out more about how our variety of neon solutions can help your business, please drop us a line.
Check out more of our neon articles here.
