Commercial Sign Lighting Title 24 Requirements
Altering an existing sign triggers Section 140.8 only when the work raises connected load, replaces and rewires more than half the ballasts, or relocates the sign. Replacing lamps, the face or ballasts without rewiring is outside the rule. A sign that is new or triggered then meets a watts-per-square-foot cap or the alternate lighting source route.
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What counts as altering a sign
Section 141.0(b)2M names the three triggers. Replacing parts, including lamps, the sign face or ballasts, that do not require rewiring, or done at a time other than a relocation, is not an alteration. Rewiring here means changing ballasts between parallel and series wiring or relocating one, not a routine in-place swap. In a strip mall, only the signs that meet a trigger must comply, while every newly installed sign meets the controls and the power rules (141.0(b)2H).
Two ways to comply once triggered
The first is the maximum power cap: internally lit signs at 12 watts per square foot of illuminated area, and externally lit at 2.3, as set out under sign lighting requirements. The second, Section 140.8(b), allows a sign equipped with LEDs on a power supply of 80 percent efficiency or better, or with neon or cold cathode lamps whose transformer efficiency is 75 percent at output currents under 50 mA and 68 percent at 50 mA or more. Unfiltered LED and unfiltered neon must use this second route. Single-voltage external power supplies up to 250 watts follow the Title 20 appliance rules instead.
Mixed signs and old sources
The manual treats a sign with several parts as several signs, each of which must comply. A sign carrying both compact fluorescent and incandescent lamps cannot use the alternate route, so it takes the power cap or a full change of sources. Unfiltered incandescent chaser lamps outside an electronic message center or lit sign fall outside Section 140.8, though sign controls still apply.
Lighting zones and documents
Sign lighting does not need to meet the outdoor lighting zone requirements, according to the manual, which separates it from outdoor and site lighting. Section 130.3 sets the indoor time-switch and outdoor photocontrol and dimming controls for nonresidential buildings other than healthcare facilities and hotel/motel buildings. Documents are NRCC-LTS-E and NRCI-LTS-E. Controls are on lighting control devices, site lighting on parking lot lighting replacement, and quotes start from the commercial page.
Common Title 24 Questions
- When does a commercial project need Title 24?
- Does an office tenant improvement need Title 24?
- Does a restaurant remodel need Title 24?
- Does a retail tenant improvement need Title 24?
- What plans are needed for a commercial Title 24 report?
- What is an NRCC certificate of compliance?
Frequently Asked Questions
Not if only lamps, the face or ballasts are replaced without rewiring. Rewiring over half the ballasts, raising connected load or moving the sign triggers Section 140.8.
Under the alternate lighting source route, 80 percent or better, with single-voltage external supplies up to 250 watts following the Title 20 rules.
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