Chicago Exit Sign

Unlike other cities, the city of Chicago has developed their own building code. This is allowed, as the Unified Building Code, Unified Plumbing Code and the National Electric Code have been created as guidelines; allowing cities to adopt, reject or add to them to meet their particular needs. As the third most populous city in the country, it makes sense that Chicago would have chosen to develop their own building code.

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The difference between Chicago’s requirements for exit signs are logical, once you take the time to compare their needs, as one of our largest cities, to the needs of other population centers. Essentially, these differences deal with providing clear information and insuring that the sign last.

Chicago Exit Sign Requirements

Any Chicago Exit Sign is required to be made of steel, for durability, with a white glass or plastic sign face. Lettering must be red, but otherwise meets the same requirements as for other cities. The one major visible difference is that a Chicago Exit Sign is required to have a red arrow, running the entire width of the text for greater visibility.

Unlike other Exit Signs, when ordering your Chicago Exit Sign, it is important to specify the arrow direction and whether the sign is one sided or two sided. Other exit signs are “universal” in that they come with two faceplates and a backplate and the arrows can be added to the sign.

Lighting Options Cost Comparison

The majority of Exit Signs in Chicago use incandescent bulbs for illumination, although they are now available with compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. It is even possible to find an approved Chicago Exit Sign that is illuminated by LEDs. The following cost comparison should give you a good idea of how much savings there is in switching over to LED. For the sake of this comparison, I’ve stated a 60,000 unit life (a little less than 7 years), because that is the life expectancy of the LEDs.

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Chicago Exit Sign Life Cycle Cost Analysis

	Incandescent	Fluorescent	LED
Initial Acquisition Cost	$125.00	$150.00	$250.00
Bulb Life Expectancy	1,200 hrs	10,000 hrs	60,000 hrs
Number of Bulbs for 60,000 hrs	100 (2 req’d)	12 (2 req’d)	1
Cost per replacement bulb	$1.95	$3.95	$56.00
Bulb cost over 60,000 hrs	$195.00	$47.40	$0.00 (part of acquisition)
Labor to replace bulbs – 5 min per unit at $18.00 per hour	$75.00	$9.00	$0.00
Electrical consumption	40 watts	29 watts	4.5 watts
Total KWh of electricity consumed in 60,000 hrs.	2,400 KWh	1,740 KWh	270 KWh
Electricity cost per KWh	$0.12	$0.12	$0.12
Electricity cost over 60,000 hrs	$288.00	$208.80	$32.40
Total life-cycle cost for 60,000 hrs	$683.00	$415.20	$282.40

Obviously, our calculations here are based upon a number of assumptions. The acquisition, labor and electrical costs are approximates; but the same approximates have been used throughout. Therefore, the price comparison, while it may not be exactly correct for your installation, is correct in how the various units compare to one another.

Conclusion

As you can see, the initial investment in LED or even CFL lighting for your Chicago Exit Sign is an investment that will pay off over the long haul. If your facility has 10 or 20 exit signs, you can easily have several thousand dollars worth of savings over the life of your Exit Signs.

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By Jonathan Carter+

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