ALPHABET SIGNS Blog

The International Dark Sky Association (IDSA) promoted a set of policies and code guidelines that would restrict or eliminate outdoor lighting at night. The general premise is that outdoor lighting should be controlled, diminished or eliminated in many cases. The IDSA lumped together the sign industry with street lamps, parking lot lights, and building lights.

In response, The United State Sign Council (USSC) initiated series of four studies to help regulators understand how signs behave in terms of lighting and traffic safety. The result of one research is titled “Environmental Impact of On-Premise Sign Lighting With Respect to Potential Light Trespass, Sky Glow and Glare”. How bright is too bright can be somewhat subjective so the researchers studied current nighttime lighting standards, and illumination on a cross-section of contemporary signs.

Here are some of the key terms with respect to the report:

• Sky Glow is the assessed sky brightness caused by the scattering of electric light into the atmosphere particularly from outdoor lighting in urban areas.
• Light Trespass is light that strays from the intended purpose and becomes an annoyance, a nuisance, or a detriment to visual performance or loss of privacy.
• Glare is the sensation produced by the luminance within the visual field that is sufficiently greater than the luminance to which the eyes are adapted causing annoyance, discomfort, or loss of visual performance.

The USSC has offered additional guidelines based upon its research. Marquee sign illumination should not be regulated because of its economic commercial value and its positive effect on traffic safety just airport runway lights are not affected by the ISDA. The guidelines set in the environmental study was that since on-premise signs did not create light trespass pursuant to Environmental Lighting Zones should be exempt of regulation.

• Internally illuminated signs by the nature and design do not contribute to the diminution of the night sky or add vast amounts of light spillage into the atmosphere.
• Internally illuminated signs as presently designed and constructed to provide optimum illumination for their intended use. The lighting output of the signs has been tried, tested, and perfected over time. Reduction in the amount of illumination is therefore inappropriate and not advised in terms of traffic safety and sign performance.
• Sign illumination at night is critical to drivers and to sign owners, for a myriad of reasons and artificial regulatory manipulation or control of such lighting will have deleterious effects and on drivers and commercial activity.