Traditional Neon vs. LED Light Designs – Which Is Best for You?

If you have ever gone to a bar, club, hotel, or any other type of business, you have undoubtedly seen a neon sign declaring it open or advertising its products or services. Traditional neon made from glass tubes and electrified gases creates a unique colorful glow that truly catches the eye and keeps attention. Today’s alternatives with ultra-bright LED bulbs and lighter weight and less expensive PVC tubes offers the same look with a long list of benefits. Traditionalists may argue that they simply do not look the same. In many ways, they end up looking better for not only marketing signage or decorations but your bottom line.

The Long History of Traditional Neon Lights

The inert gases, which include neon, krypton, argon, and xenon, were originally discovered in the 1890s. The scientists responsible, Ramsay and Travers, were thrilled to see neon glow red when electrified in a glass tube. An engineer named Georges Claude created the first commercialized neon lights by 1910, and the world of illuminated signage was never the same.

Over the years since then, neon experts have used a variety of gases to create colors including red, blue, lavender, golden yellow, and green. Although this seems to give you a lot of options, the need to bend glass tubes to particular shapes, trap the gases inside, and affix the electric diodes on each end limit the possibilities to some degree. The biggest limit is cost.

LED Neon Lights Offer and Affordable (and Better) Option

The first LED bulb was created in the 1960s, but it took a bit of time to burst onto the scene as a true option for commercial signage, party decorations, and home wall art. When it comes to the comparison between traditional glass and gas tubes and new LED options, the main argument in favor of the former is history and art. There are neon sign museums around the world where aficionados can reflect on the amazing progress of that industry.

The considerations that push LED neon to the top spot are much more practical without compromising style and impact at all.

Efficiency and Eco-Friendly Operation – LED bulbs are simply the most efficient illumination option available on the market today. They use a tiny fraction of the electricity of traditional lighting and last so much longer. In fact, the longevity of the types of LED bulbs we use should give you more than 60,000 operational hours. That is nearly 7 years of continuous use.

Safety Outshines in Every Way – Imagine hanging heavy glass tubes with electrical diodes and potentially hazardous gases on the wall of your business or home. In operation, neon signs get quite hot, too. Accidents happen and a traditional neon sign makes them so much worse. You end up with an extremely heavy sign falling to smash into thousands of hot shards of glass on the floor. LED bulbs and PVC tube neon are lightweight, will not break on the floor, never heat up, and contain no toxic materials at all. The improved safety of LED neon lights also allows for many more display opportunities such as in a classroom, child’s bedroom, or at your next party.

Affordability Cannot Be Beat – The fact that our LED neon signs are much more affordable than traditional options opens up new realms of possibility for style and design. You do not have to limit yourself to a single color or small image when you really want something more impressive and customized. Add in the amazing affordability of operating the sign, and the decision becomes simple.

While traditional glass and gas neon has a long and glorious history in the signage and art world, modern options with highly efficient LED bulbs and safe production make new products the right choice for most residential or commercial property owners. Best of all, you have an exceptional source right here who offers a vast selection of premade designs that suit many tastes and unlimited customization options just for you.