One of the best ways to illuminate your signage is by using a trough light. With this LED lighting solution, you can ensure that your business branding, shop name or company logo at the front of your business premises is illuminated at all times to attract potential customers and passers-by.
In this blog, we’ll take you through the benefits of trough lights and our very own Nanolight is a powerful and efficient LED shop front lighting option.
If you’re looking for an effective lighting solution for your business, check out the Nanolight today. If you have any questions about the product, get in touch with our Leeds-based lighting manufacturers by emailing them info@vision-lighting.co.uk.
If you’d like to purchase a trough light, simply add your trough light to basket, or make an enquiry if you’d like more details.
What Is Trough Lighting?
Before exploring the specific ways to use a trough light, it’s important to understand what trough lighting is.
So, what is a trough light? In simple terms, a trough light is a linear lighting system primarily used to brighten up signs and building exteriors. Most commonly they are used to light up signage on building fronts using efficient LEDS. We currently sell the brightest and most efficient LED technology, which can make your business really stand out without breaking the bank.
Our range of fixing brackets can help with ensuring our trough light, Nanolight, is securely fixed into position, whether that is to the wall, onto post signs, or onto the return of a sign tray.
Our range of fixing brackets can help with ensuring that the Nanolight, our trough light, is securely fixed into position - whether that is to the wall, onto post signs, or the return of a sign tray.
That means your trough light can provide illumination around the clock and in all weather conditions.
How Trough Lighting Looks and Functions
One of the most crucial aspects of a trough light is the aluminium case within the product. This case contains electrical components - such as the Tridonic power supply inside Nanolight, and the LED strips - that are crucial in keeping the light running properly.
This type of lighting is also popular amongst businesses because of how subtle it is. The trough light is slim in appearance and the length can be tailored accordingly. Neat light fixing brackets are typically used to secure trough lights in order to ensure that they look professional and are unobtrusive. As they are made using architectural grade powder coatings applied on top of solid aluminium, rust, rot or corrosion aren’t an issue.
This makes trough lighting a lasting solution for outdoor sign lighting.
Customisable Colouring: Colour Options for Trough Lights
Trough lights can also be supplied powder coated in various paint colours to match brand colours. At Vision Lighting we’re specialist lighting manufacturers, meaning that we have the in-house powder coating facilities to ensure rapid turnaround times.
Even the LED light colour itself can be customised to match the desired aesthetic, such as:
- 6000K Cool white
- 4000K Natural white
- 3000K Warm white
- RGBW Colour changing (RGB + 6000K)
Easy to Fit Anywhere: Brackets for Trough Lighting
Here at Vision Lighting, we don’t just provide trough lighting. We also have everything you need to fit it. We sell a range of brackets that can be used for the installation of your trough light. They include:
- Our Quick-Fix Pro Bracket - A flexible and adaptable solution that can be orientated in five different ways.
- Our Quick-Fix Cladding Bracket - Designed for signage with large formats and for billboards where longer bracket projection is required for trough lights to illuminate the signage effectively. They give more fixing strength on the bracket for installation onto cladding or other materials.
Adjustable Sizing: A Solution for Lighting Signs of All Sizes
Another quality which makes them a go-to for sign illumination is their extreme versatility. Carefully signed connectors in our trough light means that if you have a large sign that requires illumination, the length of the light can be increased.
We can manufacture from 300 mm up to 6100 mm in one piece. Need trough lighting longer than that? We can use a middle connector to join multiple sections together without compromising the integrity of the product’s ingress protection.
An Energy Efficient Solution for Your Fascia Sign
One of the most appealing properties of trough lights is that they are extremely energy-efficient.
As the cost of business energy rises, making savings wherever possible is a top priority. Investing in LED lighting is an easy switch to help you cut energy costs. This means that energy-saving trough lighting can help you upgrade your lighting while simultaneously saving money on your business electricity bill.
How do LED trough lights help you save money?
1. The biggest reason is that they don’t use nearly as much energy as traditional bulbs, making them cheaper to operate. LEDS are enormously energy efficient compared with halogen lighting and other traditional alternatives.
2. They last much longer than incandescent light bulbs. In fact, they can last up to 30 times longer! That represents an enormous cost saving for a business over time.
3. LED strips are virtually maintenance-free and can therefore save you money when it comes to maintenance costs.
Of course if you ever find that your LED lights aren’t working, we’ve got some handy guidance.
What Is a Trough Light Used For?
Whilst trough lighting was developed for the sign industry, it can be used for a range of general exterior lighting too. When it comes to signage though, trough lighting can be used in several different ways to illuminate fascia signs. Here are some examples of the signs that trough lighting can illuminate:
- Billboards: These signs can already have a powerful impact due to their size. With the addition of a trough light, you can ensure that the details displayed on your billboard are visible at all times, especially at night time.
- Cut-out letters: Cut-out letters are a popular alternative to flat signs and can be a great way to display your logo, company name, and branding. However, if your letters are small or if the area is *dark, they can be hard to see. A trough light will ensure that your sign is visible to passers-by at all times, drawing attention to your business premises.
- Flex face signage: This is a type of outdoor signage usually found on shop fronts and retail parks. The primary feature of this signage is a flexible PVC banner that stretches across the face of the sign. A trough light can enhance the effect of flex face signage to make your branding stand out.
- Double-sided signage: This signage - such as projecting pictorial signs on pubs and hotels, or totem signs on retail parks - is even more effective when illuminated with our Nanolight. We even have a dedicated set for pictorial sign illumination.
Where To Use A Trough Light
Applications for trough lighting can vary, although they are commonly used by businesses that need to illuminate their signage. Here are some of the businesses that can benefit the most from a trough light:
Pubs, clubs, restaurants, bars and takeaways
Use trough lighting to give your frontage a sleek, professional finish and a great first impression.
In the hospitality sector, you can attract customers by standing out with a welcoming and attractive frontage. To help attract passers-by, a trough light can illuminate your signage and branding. An LED lighting solution for your pub, bar, or restaurant can help it stand out from the crowd.
Hotels
Need to signpost visitors to your venue, whatever the weather? Choose trough lighting.
Whether you’re an independent B&B or one of several hotels in a chain, having effective signage is crucial for leading guests right to your door. Trough lighting can help you to achieve a professional finish. Better still, with a highly waterproof solution like our Nanolight, you don’t have to worry about the weather conditions in your area.
Retail shops
Whether you’re part of a popular high street chain or an independent store, it’s important to make your shop front inviting and attractive to potential customers.
Using a trough light will keep your shop illuminated around the clock to attract business. The wall brackets also provide a neat finish so that the illumination is unassuming, and the brackets are discreet.
Schools, hospitals and offices
Public buildings such as schools, hospitals and offices have signage that needs to be easily visible.
In some instances, it’s essential that signage is constantly and evenly illuminated. In the case of signs that give directions to A&E departments, being easily seen at all times by the general public is critical. A trough light can help you to do just that.
Is a Trough Light Right for You? The Pros & Cons
Trough lights have a number of important pros to consider. As referenced above, they’re energy-efficient and affordable, and also appealing because of their brightness!
Other pros include:
- Low Maintenance – LED lights have a long lifespan, so your trough lighting will be remarkably easy to maintain, even when installed outside at the mercy of the elements.
- Security – The brightness of trough lights can illuminate a commercial property and deter intruders as a result. Any dark or blind spots can be eliminated.
- Uniform Appearance – Due to their design, trough lights have a uniform appearance that generates an even coverage of light, which is more aesthetically pleasing.
- Brackets Allow Tilting – Did you know that a trough light is often the preferred lighting system by council planning departments? The reason for this is because the product is installed on brackets which allow it to be tilted. The tilted angle lights the sign while minimising general light pollution on the streets, unlike box lights which shine outwards.
Of course, as with all LED lighting products, there are some drawbacks to consider.
Firstly, the upfront cost of installation can be expensive, though the long-term savings are often very worthwhile. Also, installation can be physically demanding, especially at height.
Some other cons to be mindful of include:
- Limited Applications – Trough lighting illuminates large spaces and surfaces, perfect for brightening up fascia signs or an outdoor landscape. Utilising trough lights inside isn’t unheard of, though it is uncommon.
- Light Pollution – All lights generate light pollution, something that can impact the surrounding environment, which is a drawback to consider for any lighting product, even when powered by LEDs.
- Less Flexibility – Though trough lighting is adjustable, their design is also inherently limiting. As trough lighting is essentially one long bar shape, you tend to be limited to having each trough light face in only one direction.
Introducing, The Nanolight: Vision Lighting’s Unique Trough Lighting Solution:
Vision Lighting’s own trough light is the Nanolight. This innovative trough lighting solution is unique to the entire LED lighting market.
In 2017 Nanolight was the first product of its kind in the UK that has been tested to the IP66 rating, our Nanolight is one of a kind.
3 reasons you won’t find a better trough light for your outdoor lighting needs:
1. The Nanolight is an Unbeatable IP-Rated Trough Light
To measure how much protection the electrical enclosures offer against both solids and liquids, most trough lights are tested to an IP65 rating. To achieve this ingress protection rating, the light must withstand the direct spray from a jet washer for 3 minutes.
However, the IP66 takes it to the extreme. To achieve this rating, products are sprayed by fire hoses that use 300 litres of water over a three minute period. Our Nanolight underwent this test and achieved the rating, meaning that the components inside were completely dry once the test was complete.
This rating gives our customers peace of mind that their trough light will withstand all elements and ensures that they don’t have to worry about the Nanolight being damaged by the frequently poor British weather.
It also makes the Nanolight highly suitable for harsh climates and environments such as coastal areas and marine lighting applications that would otherwise see products damaged by elements, such as:
- Sand
- Sediments
- Saltwater
- Wind & rain
- Fog
Not only does this mean that you won’t have to worry about inconvenient and frequent repairs. It also means that passers-by will be able to see your signage clearly at all times.
2. The Nanolight Has Unrelenting Energy Efficiency
The Nanolight consumes 11.5 Watts per metre but emits an impressive 2185 Lumens per metre, giving you exceptional value for money.
This is a prime example of how we invest in our product development process to ensure that our customers get nothing short of quality products.
As well as this, we use IP20 LED strips and Tridonic power supplies, meaning that your trough light is a high-quality yet affordable solution. These drivers are housed inside the Nanolight’s IP66 profile to ensure that they can operate effectively without being damaged by water or dust.
3. The Nanolight Is Customisable to Your Needs
The Nanolight is manufactured in sections up to 6100 mm in length. As such, if you need a longer light output for your signage, we can bolt several sections together to achieve longer lengths.
Better still, we independently seal these sections to prevent water ingress and any associated damage. The middle connector system was designed to ensure each unit is independently sealed to IP66 - meaning no leaks.
When it comes to colour, the Nanolight is available in a range of finishes including black and white semi-gloss finishes, and a range of specific colours from the RAL Colour Chart, British Standard Colour Chart or Pantone Chart. This is all made possible due to our in-house powder coating service.
As for the installation, we’ve ensured that our Nanolight can be installed, with ease, in minutes. Our Quick-Fix Brackets have been made especially for this product and are available in various sizes to ensure it fits seamlessly in your space.
Purchase Your Trough Light Today
If you’re looking for outdoor lighting to illuminate your sign, look no further than the Nanolight. With low maintenance, easy installation, and powerful lighting output, you can ensure that your signage stays bright at all times.
To purchase our Nanolight signage lighting solution you can add Nanolights to basket, or make an enquiry. If you’d like to speak to a member of our team about any of our excellent products, just get in touch by emailing info@vision-lighting.co.uk.