Flexible new LED-based lighting system

Flexible new LED-based lighting system from Mule Lighting is easier to install, eliminates breakage problems of neon, and is more energy efficient.

When International Dairy Queen (IDQ) began rolling out their DQ Grill and Chill restaurants and started testing a treat-oriented concept, the building signage designs called for accent lighting running around the building.

Traditionally, this lighting would have been made with neon, but IDQ sign maker, International Sign of Largo, FL, suggested a new accent lighting material, LED-FLEX lighting from Mule Lighting of Providence, RI, that was easier to install, eliminated the breakage problems associated with neon, and was tremendously more energy efficient.

IDQ, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, develops, licenses and services a system of more than 5,600 Dairy Queen stores in the United States, Canada and other foreign countries, offering dairy desserts, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages.

IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Following the successful roll-out of DQ Grill and Chill, a quick-service concept that features an all new expanded food menu and newly designed restaurant interiors, Dairy Queen began testing a treat-centric concept in August 2005.

This unique concept blends a sleek new look with the feel of a traditional ice cream shop and offers an expanded treat menu that includes traditional DQ favorites, the Orange Julius line of smoothies and fruit drinks, and new signature desserts and sundaes.

"We first looked at LED lighting five or six years ago," said John Brazil, Vice President, Design Architecture Construction for IDQ, "but it was still an emerging technology at that time and we were unable to get the intensity or unification across the spectrum of light that would meet our needs.

But when International Sign showed us some of the recent advances, we decided to do a couple test locations.

For the colors we're using and the application, it seemed a great fit".

"What we did was put together a comparison list of all the current border LED lighting available," said Bryan Vaughn, National Sales Manager at International Sign.

Vaughn got samples, brochures and specifications, contacted the manufacturers regarding warranty and pricing, and even had them quote a typical installation.

"At that point, IDQ picked three they felt worked from a visual standpoint.

We put these three on a building--our manufacturing plant here--and IDQ flew down and observed them both day and night.

They then made the choice for the Mule LED-FLEX product".

The LED-FLEX LED (light emitting diode) lighting system from Mule Lighting, has the same appearance as traditional neon lighting, but requires less energy, is more flexible and durable, and can be used in many applications where neon is not appropriate.

Comprised of a system of durable UV protected tubes lined with LED lamps for illumination, LED-FLEX is flexible enough to bend up to 180 degrees and offers a user-friendly alternative to delicate, glass-based neon bulbs.

LED-FLEX contains no harmful gases, making it safe to handle, and can be custom cut and shaped on-site, without the need for specially trained personnel.

"One of the issues we had was that the cost of LED is significantly more than neon," said Brazil, "not so much in the installation, but in the actual raw product on the buy side.

So once we got the color match, and the unification and appearance we were looking for, we went back to our engineers and said, 'OK, here's the cost of the LED-FLEX; here's what the cost of the install is; here's the cost of ongoing maintenance,' and we lined that up against neon, including breakage and ongoing maintenance, and it appeared that we were going to get about a 2 year, perhaps a 30 month payback on the initial cost.

That made it a significantly easier decision to go ahead and introduce them into our master prototype specifications for all our buildings".

According to Vaughn, fabrication using the LED-FLEX product was much easier than neon.

"What's nice about LED-FLEX is there is literally no shop fabrication whatsoever with this application.

The product comes on reels and all fabrication is strictly field labor.

"With neon, of course, it's just the opposite.

You have to have precise measurements for every section, bend it all in-house, then be very careful when you take it to the field.

And there's no doubt when you do the install that there's going to be breakage.

With the LED-FLEX product, there's no breakage at all".

But that's not the only advantage Vaughn reported.

Unlike neon, which must be carefully mounted on special brackets, the Mule LED-FLEX fits into a simple C-channel.

And while 90-degree connectors are available with the product, it is flexible enough to simply bend around corners.

"The connectors are similar to neon, in that there is about an inch of non-continuous light right at the corner.

But when you bend the LED-FLEX, the light is continuous.

The same with splices.

With neon you have about an inch between double-backs, whereas the LED-FLEX connections are invisible to anyone looking at the building".

Wiring is easier, too, with a single lead fed through the building to a low-voltage transformer.

Said Vaughn, "With neon you need two building penetrations and you cannot run anywhere near the footage per transformer that you can with LED-FLEX.

And it's low voltage, so you don't have to have a master or journeyman electrician install it".

However, the major advantages of LED-FLEX are the projected life of the system and the energy savings that accrue.

The LED lamps used for illumination in LED-FLEX require as little as 1.92 watts of energy per foot, making them 10-50% more energy efficient than traditional lighting, including neon.

Plus, said Vaughn, "The projected life of blue LEDs is less than red and amber, but they're right around 80,000 to 100,000 hours.

Red and amber go up to 150,000 hours.

For the Dairy Queen application, which uses the blue and will be run about 12 hours a day, that translates to a projected system life of between 18 and 23 years." Response to the new LED-FLEX system has also been very positive, said Brazil.

"Our franchises like it.

It holds up well in all kinds of weather cycles, and even though we're only about a year and a half into it, payback on cost seems to be right on track.

We're looking at LEDs for other applications as well".

Mule Lighting, is a custom manufacturer of quality lighting and battery related products, including Exit Signs, Emergency Lighting, Battery UPS Systems, Battery Chargers and Rechargeable Batteries.

Mule's line of patented LED (light emitting diode) bulbs offers energy saving and cost-efficient alternatives to traditional incandescent lighting fixtures.

Several of Mule's patented lighting options have earned the Energy Star of approval for conservation.

Electrical Construction and Maintenance magazine has named LED-FLEX a winner of the ECandM 2005 Product of the Year award, in the category of Lighting Systems.

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