Are Neon Signs LED?
We explain why our signs are not neon, why we use LED and how the confusion came about!
Our signs are not neon signs - they’re LED Neon effect signs to be precise!
Why we use LED?
Imagine finding a product that has an almost seamless appearance to neon, but is cheaper, non-fragile, eco-friendly and totally safe to have around the home. You would find LED Neon - or specifically our Rad Super Mini LEDÂ Neon.
All of our signs are made from LED Neon tube unlike the traditional glass tube neon containing argon.
The main difference is that LED neon is more eco-friendly, as signs contain zero mercury and use very little electricity vs traditional neon which uses between 3KV – 18KV (KV standing for killer volts).
LED neon is also cheaper to purchase, as well as a lot cheaper to run. We would not recommend using Traditional Neon signs in a kids room for example - but our LED Neon signs are a perfectly safe option & dimmable as a nightlight too -Â bonus!
LED Neon provides an effect often mistaken for traditional neon - but we can’t blame them!
Even David Dobrik famously confused his own traditional neon sign (pictured) for an ‘LED sign’ in his Architectural Digest tour video.
Why LED & Neon often get confused?
The confusion between LED Neon signs & Traditional Neon signs is part of the beauty of LED Neon. Ask anyone what they would call the sign in the photo above - and they would most likely say ‘That’s a neon sign’.Â
Well they’d be wrong, it’s actually an LED Neon sign. But its appearance is so close to the traditional medium that most people simply cannot tell - hence the confusion.
At Radikal Neon we’ve previously had experience making traditional neon signs, so we clearly know the difference, but there’s even times when we get stumped.
As the technology gets even better we can only imagine the lines will be blurred further as the struggle to tell the difference becomes near impossible.