The 3 Most Common Challenges with LED Signs

Let’s look at the basics. We all know that the sun is harmful to our eyes -- not just because of UV rays, but because of how bright it is. That’s why we’re told not to stare at the sun, or much worse, solar eclipses. It’s also why our cars have vizors above the windshields and why we wear sunglasses when we’re outside. We know that the excessive light can damage our retinas -- both acutely and over time. Now, consider that many of these signs are actually competing with the sun. Their brightness has to be cranked up relative to the sun’s brightness just so they can be seen in normal daylight conditions. You don’t have to be a scientist to see that we’re putting our eyes (and mother nature) to the test!

Most of us aren’t even aware of it while we’re outside on a bright, sunny day, that our eyes are now being subject to many sources of potentially harmful light, rather than just one. And, as our world progresses further on this digital course, all that bright light starts to feel more normal to us. An intensely bright LED billboard outside of a storefront no longer seems like much of a going concern. And, we no longer have to go all the way to Times Square just to see one.  All we need to do is take a drive down any highway through nearly any moderate-sized city, and shazam! We’re blasted in the face by much of that exact same technology.

Some propose that LCD signs are a better alternative than LED signs. And, there are many angles they come at this from. When you listen to their arguments, you have to take into account that not all LCD and LED signs are created equally. Some are more efficient in various ways than others, completely altering the entire lists of pros and cons associated with each. All in all, some good arguments can be made for either case, but both arguments leave you with more or less the same problems, which are: a product that still consumes too much energy and produces far too much harmful blue light. So then, outside of the common LCD and LED options, which other alternatives are out there? Great question. 

A relatively new, innovative type of technology is growing in awareness among digital advertisers. A solution that consumes approximately 95% less power than its competitors. A solution that does not compete with sunlight, but rather, uses sunlight to its advantage. What is it? No, it’s not solar powered tech (although it is similar in some ways). It’s something called reflective LCD technology. 

As you’ll see in our video on the left, a reflective LCD panel performs effortlessly to produce bright, crisp HD images with the ambient light that is freely available on a given normal day. Any of its competitors would have to boost up their brightness (possibly into the thousands of nits) in order to achieve this! And, this reflective panel is doing it all while utilizing only 5 watts of power. That power is coming from a tiny 12 volt battery attached to the display’s backside, which will give the display approximately 8 hours of use.

Please, take a moment to lift your jaw back up, and think for a minute about all the doors that this opens. Remember that golf outing last year that had LCD displays spaced in key spots to keep spectators informed on scores and wind speeds? And, do you remember the mess of cords that had to be run to power them, creating tripping hazards and unsightly distractions? And, try to think of the huge power bill that came from keeping all those displays powered and fully bright for that large chunk of time. You chalked all that up to being a “necessary evil.” But, maybe it wasn’t.