The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the organization that develops energy-efficiency requirements for new or extensively renovated, commercial buildings, has granted exemptions for nighttime usage of electric signage to the ASHRAE 90.1-2013 standard, according to the Intl. Sign Assn (ISA). The regulation oversees energy standards for all structures except low-rise, residential buildings, and will be finalized and published later this year. The original standard mandated a 30% reduction in lighting brightness for signs in operation during overnight hours.
In response, the ISA presented detailed information on electric signs’ technical and performance properties during ASHRAE’s Lighting Subcommittee and Standing Standard Project Committee at meetings held in Dallas in January and Atlanta in March. Based on ISA’s presentations, ASHRAE approved changes, with specific exceptions for signs with integral lighting that’s installed by the signage manufacturer. All lightsources (LED, fluorescent, neon, HID, etc.) that provide integral sign illumination are exempt, and the standard modifications don’t apply to external illumination, such as ground lighting or overhead, gooseneck fixtures.