NEON: There is only one type of neon. Hand made from straight lengths of glass that are heated over a flame and blown into while being bent to shape. It’s not made by a machine or mass produced… it’s an art form.
As experts in the concept, design, manufacture and installation of all things neon – A1DeSIGNS is constantly being asked questions about our specialist subject.
There’s plenty of misconceptions and myths surrounding neon… so we’ve put together a series of factual answers to common, technical questions and queries we’re frequently asked. We hope you find this useful…
What is the life expectancy of neon tubes?
The life expectancy of a tube pumped with pure neon depends on a few factors; whether the tube stays sealed and unbroken, whether there are enough ions remaining in the tube for it to strike and as long as it does not suffer an electrode breakdown.
This can be many years. However, the argon pumped tubes can suffer from electrode erosion and have a useful life expectancy of over 40,000 hours. Tubes have been known to last a great deal longer than this.
In 2012 an article in the Daily Mail wrote about some neon tubes that were found in the USA that had been running constantly for 77 years.
Fluorescent coated tubes do however suffer from a decrease in light output over time (lumen depreciation), LEDs also suffer from this as well, but are more greatly affected than neon by heat.
Is the life expectancy of neon tubes affected by being switched on and off?
The effect of switching neon on and off repeatedly is negligible on its life span.
We hope you found this post helpful? Check out more of our neon articles here. And please drop us a line if you’d like to chat about any of the details we’ve covered or to find out more about how our variety of neon solutions can help your business.
