We are often asked this question with regards to channel letter signs.

"When I have our electrician run electrical power for our signs should I have him install a photo cell or a timer to turn it on and off?"

Automatic Electronic Thermal Lighting Controls*

When our founder was very young he managed a supermarket, a grocery store.

He discovered that he could affect the store's business by simply turning “on” the store's signs on less-than-sunshiny days.  Cloudy and/or rainy days would have a higher sales volume than bright days, IF HE REMEMBERED TO TURN THE SIGNS ON.

And with the tinted window glass so prevalent in the South it is often-times hard to tell if a business is even open.

These are lessons every business person should be aware of.  And, with today's modern LED illuminated signage, it costs practically nothing to make your store really stand out!

What is the main reason our Sunburst^™ LED outdoor digital signs increase a store’s business so dramatically?  Lighted signs draw much more attention than unlighted signs, even during the day!

Because we recognize how important this is, we will now install automatic electronic lighting controls on every lighted channel letter sign we manufacture*,  factory calibrated to turn the sign “on” and “off” at times when lighting will help you do more business.  Over the past 40+ years, we have documented EXACTLY when channel letter’s lighting should be turned “on” to increase visibility on dark and/or rainy days, overcome shadows, and exactly when at dusk a sign should be turned “on.”  The whole purpose of the sign, after all, is to attract attention to your business.  We make your sign both more attention-getting AND more legible.

The setting varies for signs pointed East, West, North, or South, and varies for signs containing neon and/or LEDs.  It also varies by how the sign was built.

Our automatic electronic lighting controls are installed not only to recognize light levels, but also to sense shadows making signs less legible, and turn “on” the internal lighting accordingly.  Optimum settings are custom-set for every sign.

Another example of our doing everything we can to insure that our signs make your business the most successful.  As far as we know, no other sign manufacturer does this, for free or otherwise, for their customers.

If possible, have your electrician also wire a time clock to control the power supplying your signs.  The time clock should be set to keep the sign “off” at times they should never be lighted, say 2:30 AM to 5:30 AM, the rest of the time whether the sign is “on” or “off” should be determined by our automatic lighting controls.  USE ELECTRICITY WISELY TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS THE MOST VISIBLE, BUT CONSERVE ENERGY.

Regarding “Energy Consumption” click on our "Energy Savings" page tabbed on our "Electrical" page (left column) and note how little energy our SolarBrite^™ LED lighted signs use in a year!

Recognize that Intermatic and Tork time clocks, used by most electricians, are not finely adjustable, and at certain times of the year dawn and dusk occur at quickly-varying times, gaining or losing over 15 minutes of daylight each week.  If you only have a time clock controlling power to your signs, savvy business owners must reset their time clocks constantly and carefully, and manually override them to turn “on” their signs on dark days.  Good luck getting your employees to do this religiously – THIS IS ALSO WHY WE INCLUDE CALIBRATED AUTOMATIC THERMAL LIGHTING CONTROLS ON EVERY OUTDOOR SIGN WE MANUFACTURE.*  Incidentally, we DO NOT use photo cells or photo eyes.  They are neither precise nor reliable.

Anecdotal data suggests that increased profits resulting from this feature alone more than pays for the entire cost of the sign EVERY YEAR.

Unconvinced of the importance to you?  View our control system in operation, and our supporting testing, in our Sign Lighting Laboratory and Showroom.  Then you can decide if you agree that this is a critically important improvement in signage effectiveness.

*Dependent on size and design.  For instance, it is not possible to incorporate automatic electronic lighting controls in individual channel letters under 4’ tall if they are being installed mounted directly on the wall with no raceway or wireway.  But any size channel letters with raceways or wireways can incorporate automatic electronic lighting controls.

FOR ORDERING OR ASSISTANCE CALL:

214-339-2227 254-582-7446 817-861-1234 903-561-5959 940-365-3433 972-850-3300

800-333-7137 TOLL-FREE

Signs Manufacturing & Maintenance Corp.
4610 Mint Way, Dallas, Texas75236, US
214-339-2227 | sales@signsmanufacturing.com

Business hours are 07.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday thru Friday (Central Time)
or by Appointment

Emergency Service Available 24/7
Office hours are 08.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday thru Friday
Showroom hours are by Appointment
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