Do Neon Signs Use a Lot of Electricity?
No. Neon signs are cheap to run. LED neon draws very little power, about the same as a household LED bulb, and a typical home sign costs only a few dollars a year to keep lit. Glass neon uses more, but even then it is a modest draw for a home-sized sign.
Echo Neon makes both LED and glass, so here is an honest read on the power each one uses and what it costs to run. For how the formats compare overall, see the types of neon signs. The numbers below will let you estimate your own sign.
Do Neon Signs Use a Lot of Electricity?
For a home sign, no. LED neon is very low draw, on the order of a single light bulb, so running it adds very little to your bill. Glass neon uses more power for the same design, because it runs on a high-voltage transformer and loses more energy as heat, but it is still a small cost for a sign you would have at home. Only very large signs run for long hours every day start to add up, and even then the figures stay reasonable.
How Much Power a Neon Sign Uses
Power draw depends mostly on how much tubing the design uses, not the size of the backboard. As a rule of thumb, LED neon draws roughly 3 to 12 watts per foot of tubing, depending on size, color, and brightness. In practice that puts a small home sign around 10 to 30 watts and a larger one around 40 to 120 watts. LED runs on a low-voltage 12V adapter.
Glass neon draws several times more per foot for the same design, and it runs through a high-voltage transformer that adds its own overhead. A comparable glass sign typically uses two to four times the power of an LED version. For what glass neon is and why it works this way, see glass neon signs.
What It Costs to Run
The math is simple. Take the wattage, divide by 1,000 to get kilowatts, then multiply by the hours per day, the days, and your electricity rate:
(watts ÷ 1,000) x hours per day x days x your rate = cost
For example, a 50-watt LED sign run 8 hours a day uses 0.4 kWh a day. At about 16 cents per kWh, that is roughly 6 cents a day, close to 2 dollars a month, or about 23 dollars a year. Here is how a few typical signs work out at that rate:
| Sign (illustrative) | Power | Hours/day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small LED sign (a word or two) | ~20W | 8 | under $1 | ~$9 |
| Medium LED sign | ~50W | 8 | ~$2 | ~$23 |
| Large LED sign | ~120W | 12 | ~$7 | ~$84 |
| Medium glass sign (same size as the medium LED) | ~150W | 8 | ~$6 | ~$70 |
As the table shows, even a large LED sign runs for under 10 dollars a month, and a small one is a few dollars a year. The medium glass sign costs roughly three times its LED equivalent to run, though both are modest. That is the running cost. For what a sign costs to buy, which is the bigger number, see how much neon signs cost.
Why LED Uses Less Than Glass
The difference comes down to efficiency. LED neon converts roughly 90 percent of the electricity it draws into light, with only a little lost as heat. Glass neon converts about 20 percent into light, and the rest is given off as heat, which is also why a glass sign runs warm. So glass needs more power to produce the same brightness. LED neon signs are the more efficient choice, and if running cost is a deciding factor, that is covered in our guide to LED vs glass neon signs.
Is It Expensive to Leave a Neon Sign On?
No, especially with LED. As the figures above show, leaving an LED sign on for hours costs cents, not dollars. If you want to trim it further, a timer switches the sign off automatically overnight, and a dimmer lets you run it at lower brightness for less power. A dimmer is available at the order stage if you want one. For whether it is safe to leave a sign on, see neon sign safety.
A Sign That Costs Little to Run
If a low running cost matters most, LED neon is the clear pick. Design a custom LED neon sign for the lowest power draw, or a custom glass neon sign if the authentic look is worth a little more on the meter. Either way, the running cost stays small for a home sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. LED neon uses very little, about the same as a household LED bulb, and a typical home sign costs only a few dollars a year. Glass neon uses more, but it is still a modest draw for a home-sized sign.
A small LED sign costs a few dollars a year, and even a large one runs for under about 80 dollars a year. Glass costs roughly two to four times more. Use (watts divided by 1,000) times hours times days times your rate to estimate your own.
LED neon draws about 3 to 12 watts per foot of tubing, so a small home sign is often 10 to 30 watts and a larger one 40 to 120 watts. Glass neon draws several times more per foot for the same design.
Yes, much cheaper. LED converts about 90 percent of its energy into light, while glass converts about 20 percent, so a glass sign uses roughly two to four times the power of an LED version.
No, especially LED, where hours of use cost cents rather than dollars. A timer or a dimmer lowers it further. A dimmer is available at the order stage.
LED neon adds very little. Glass adds a bit more, but for a home-sized sign the increase is still small. Only very large signs run for long hours daily make a noticeable difference.
Cheap to Run, Especially LED
Neon signs do not use a lot of electricity. LED neon is very efficient and costs only a few dollars a year for a typical home sign, and glass, while it draws more, is still a modest running cost. Run the formula with your own sign’s wattage and your local rate, and you will see the numbers are small. Echo Neon makes both, so you can choose with the running cost in mind.
For the full picture of how the formats compare, head back to the types of neon signs.
