Illuminated vs Non Illuminated Signs: Cost Compared

Lighting a sign roughly doubles what you pay for it, so the fair question is whether the extra spend earns its keep. The answer depends almost entirely on when your customers are looking.

The upfront difference

A non illuminated flat panel fascia typically runs £800 to £3,000. The same shopfront with trough lighting is usually £1,500 to £4,500, and as an internally lit box £2,000 to £8,000. So expect to add somewhere between 50 and 100 per cent for illumination.

The running cost

Modern signage uses LED, not fluorescent or neon tube, and that has changed the maths completely. A typical illuminated shop fascia draws very little power, so annual electricity is in the region of £50 to £100 running through the evening. LED modules are rated for tens of thousands of hours, so relamping is rare.

When lighting is worth it

• You trade in the evening, restaurants, takeaways, bars, gyms, salons and convenience stores
• Your unit sits back from the road or is shaded by a canopy or trees
• You are on a busy road where drivers pass after dark
• Your street has other lit signs and an unlit one disappears between them
• Winter afternoons, in much of the UK it is dark before many shops close

When you can skip it

If you are a nine to five office, a trade counter on an industrial estate, or a business whose customers arrive by appointment, an unlit sign with good contrast will do the job. Spend the saving on a larger panel or better materials instead.

Halfway options

Trough lighting is the cheapest way to get a lit shopfront and is often the option councils prefer in conservation areas. Halo lit letters give a soft glow behind the letterform and are usually accepted where a bright box would not be. Both are worth asking about before you rule illumination out on price.

Consent and lighting

Illuminated signage is more likely to need advertisement consent from the council than an unlit one, particularly in residential areas and conservation areas. It is not a reason to avoid it, but it does need factoring into your timescale.

Talk it through

We make both, so we have no reason to push you either way. Tell us your trading hours and your street and we will tell you honestly whether lighting is worth it. Call 0800 454 613 for a free survey.