Ecoglo recently completed a review of the emergency exit sign system in a sorting facility of a large Australian logistics company.
The review was triggered by a 2014 change to the Australian Building Code which recognised that photoluminescent (PL) signs were able to replace the traditional electrical alternatives.
The exercise looked at decommissioning all of the electrical exit signs and replacing them with PL equivalents. Although the primary driver was to improve the company’s sustainability profile they were very pleased to find that there were also significant financial savings.
The 10,000 square metre facility had 32 electrical exit signs and the cost of decommissioning these, replacing them with PL signs, and the associated permits and certification was just over $10,000. The ongoing electricity and maintenance costs of the electrical signs was estimated at $70 per sign per annum. The PL signs used existing lighting to charge so had no electricity cost and minimal inspection and maintenance costs. This meant that the project had a payback period of 3 years and when the Net Present Value of the project was calculated over 30 years there was a $30,837 saving for the logistics company.
These numbers are not chicken feed and when you look at the comparisons between electrical and PL in new buildings, rather than retrofit, the difference between the costs escalates.
It’s no wonder that the electrical industry is squirming around trying every trick in the book to protect their revenue streams.
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