Exit to Savings Program

Thanks to a temporary rebate program offered by Climate Change Central and Natural Resources Canada, more than 7,300 exit signs in Alberta multi-residential buildings were switched to energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) models in 2005. The resulting energy savings are $140,000 a year, with estimated greenhouse gas emission reductions of 50,000 tonnes over the 25-year life of the LED signs.

The Exit to Savings program, which ran for three months in early 2005, offered cash rebates to Alberta's condominiums, apartment buildings and seniors' complexes to replace incandescent- or fluorescent-lit signs with LED signs.

An LED exit sign is highly visible, lasts with little or no maintenance for up to 25 years and operates for less than $2 a year. By contrast, a conventional exit sign costs $17 to $35 to operate, with the bulbs often having to be replaced more than once a year.