Introduction to glow in the dark signs
Glow in the dark signs such as nite-glo, xtra-glo, photo-luminescent and luminous all play a part in helping others clearly see signage in the event of a power failure or a lighting failure when suddenly the environment is plunged into darkness which is vital in the of an emergency such as a fire.
The benefits to businesses
Throughout the UK there are thousands of businesses including offices, factories, warehouses, schools, public buildings, hospitals, shopping centres and the list goes on who all rely upon these photo-luminescent or glow in the dark if you prefer, signs. The signs are self-charging either by daylight or interior lighting and when a certain level of darkness is achieved the signs will self-illuminate, they will actually glow to show the contents of the sign in the dark, let’s say for example you place a glow in the dark sign in the corridor showing fire exit with an arrow then this sign as well as some of the corridor will be illuminated to provide minimal but an adequate amount of light to illuminate your route to the exit. By providing these signs in your premises you will not only assist your staff but members of the public and visitors too.
In buildings of multiple storeys such as hospitals, tower blocks, schools, colleges, etc. You will often find the glow in the dark signs above the stairwell on each landing; this method will also be inclusive of emergency lighting to provide further reassurance of providing a safe exit to the residents thus providing peace of mind for the person responsible for the building. photo-luminescent signs or signage can vary greatly in their characteristics providing a variety of levels of illumination as well as the amount of time the will illuminate for.
Photo luminescent over traditional
Well, this all depends on the business, the business type and the property. For example, take a high street shop in a town which is an estate agents or bakers then glow in the dark signage wouldn’t really serve a purpose in both as the shop windows are very large allowing for ample borrowed lighting from outside, in addition the normal working hours for these types of businesses generally fall under daylight hours and normally consists of the shop front and an office the rear so these types of businesses would be satisfactory with normal signage types that do not glow.
The best premises that can take advantage of glow in the dark signs are businesses or properties with basements, internal corridors and as discussed earlier places with stairwells. The added advantage these photo luminescent signs would give you is far superior over normal, non-illuminated signage providing occupants with a clear, well illuminated route to safety so we can safely say that glow in the dark signs are best suited for more complex type buildings.
The variation of signs
Just about all type of emergency sign is readily available in photo luminescent; this includes fire exit signage, fire door signage, push bar to open signs and more. An important factor to consider is your fire fighting equipment, yes this equipment too will greatly benefit from being highlighted by glow in the dark signs. Your fire wardens and marshals will be able to identify fire equipment almost immediately saving valuable time in the event of an emergency; you should also consider placing glow in the dark signs in the vicinity of your emergency first aid equipment too for added reassurance. One final note… In the above paragraphs we have mainly discussed signage. However, you can also purchase fire exit route signage which is available in tape format which can be adhered to your stairwell handrails or corridor skirting boards providing a professional well illuminated passage of route.
