When the National Aquarium in Baltimore waved goodbye to its distinctive neon emblem and began replacing it with more energy-efficient lighting last month, it was hardly the first to make the switch.
All around Maryland, companies and institutions are turning off neon, incandescent and fluorescent lights and opting instead for "light-emitting diodes," or LEDs, a technology that consumes much less energy and typically requires far less maintenance.
One company at the forefront of this changeover is Triangle Sign & Service of Arbutus, a 73-year-old lighting and sign specialist that is fabricating and installing the aquarium's new wave-shaped light as well as LED signs for many other clients, including LensCrafters, The Gap, M&T Bank and Dulles International Airport. The new wave is expected to be completed this month.
One of Triangle's project managers is Bob Nethen, whose grandfather once owned a local neon sign company, Claude Neon Signs. That's where Nethen began his career as a teenager and worked his way up to vice president, before the company closed in the mid-1990s. For the past 20 years, Nethen has been a project and sales manager for Triangle. These days, Nethen said, most of its production involves LED technology.
Nethen took a break from work last week to discuss the aquarium project and the larger changes he sees in the sign and lighting industry.
Question: A municipal aquarium isn't the most energy-efficient building because of all the pumps and filters inside. Will swapping out a neon light with new technology make that much of a difference?
Answer: Absolutely. The aquarium had to spend $7,000 to $8,000 a year to replace broken sections. They won't have to replace anything anymore. It will only take 25 percent of the power of the neon, in this application. From a financial standpoint and an environmental standpoint, it's the right thing to do.
Q: So LED is the wave of the future?
A: In the world of lighting and signs, it's changing everything for everybody. You can use it to retrofit an existing sign. You can replace existing signs with LED. When we do new stores, they all have LED. All the big banks in town. The fast-food places. We hardly have a client that uses neon anymore.
Q: What's so appealing about LED?
A: It costs less to operate. It consumes less energy. It's not as fragile. It virtually eliminates maintenance. The light is as good as before, if not better. Why would you not use it?
Q: How long has LED technology been available?
A: It's been commercially viable for the sign industry for 10 years, and the technology keeps getting better. Red has been in the marketplace the longest. All the 'red guys' — Staples, Office Depot, TGI Fridays — changed their signs a long time ago to LED. We're now at the point that white LEDs are bright enough and white enough to replace neon. Every month they get brighter and less expensive. There are now half a dozen companies that offer a product that I wouldn't be afraid to use, in all colors.
Q: LEDs are taking over in lighting as well as signs?
A: You see them all the time and don't even realize it. One of the first applications was for tail lights for tractor-trailers. Another application is the refrigerated cases in grocery stores. Fluorescent doesn't like the cold atmosphere. LED thrives in a cold atmosphere. The Navy is changing all of the lights in its ships to LED. A big part is economic considerations. If you can save $350 a year per store and you have 1,000 stores, it's really a big number. And LED practically eliminates service calls.
Q: There are residential applications, too?
A: We're now at the point that you can put LED fixtures in your home or store. You can still choose incandescent, compact fluorescent or halogen. But LED is going to give you the most efficient, longest-lived choice.
Q: Has the green movement played a role?
A: With LEED construction [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, as certified by the U.S. Green Building Council], you try to be as eco-friendly as possible. LED lighting is a big part of that.
Q: So the aquarium is ahead of the curve?
A: Being forward-thinking, they thought: Maybe there is a better way.
Q: Is Maryland in the forefront of this trend?
A: I don't know that anyone is in the forefront.
Q: Some entire jurisdictions have banned new neon signs for various reasons, including Sao Paulo, Brazil, Long Hill Township, New Jersey, and the state of Vermont. Are any companies making decisions like that?
A: If you do work at Potomac Mills [mall in northern Virginia], it's going to be LED. That's all they let you do. No neon and no fluorescent. The landlord [ Simon Property Group] made that decision. They won't let anybody do anything else.
Q: Is there still a place for neon signs, other than the industrial museum?
