Exit sign
Encyclopedia
An exit sign is a device in a public facility (such as a building, aircraft or boat) denoting the location of the emergency exit
, guiding people to the closest exit in case of fire or other emergency. Most relevant codes
(fire, building
, health or safety) require exit signs to be permanently lit. Exit signs are designed to be absolutely unmistakable and understandable to anyone.
Most exit signs around the world are in pictogram
form, with or without text supplement. There has been a shift towards the adoption of such exit signs in the recent decade. A small minority of nations adhered to the exit signs that show the word "EXIT" (or similar in another language). The English word "exit" comes directly from the Latin word meaning "(he or she) goes out."
Since visibility may be reduced in a fire, due to smoke
or failure of electric lighting, the sign is often permanently illuminated, usually by one of:
or were a white glass cover with EXIT written in red that fit directly over a single-bulb light fixture
. The inherent flaws with these designs were that, in a fire, the power to the light often failed. In addition, the fixtures could be difficult to see in a fire where smoke often reduced visibility, despite being relatively bright. The biggest problem was the exit sign being hardly distinguishable from a ordinary safety lighting fixture commonly installed above doors in the past. The problem was partially solved by using red-tinted globes instead.
Better signs were soon developed that more resembled today's modern exit sign, with an incandescent bulb inside a rectangular-shaped box that backlit the word "EXIT" on one or both sides. Being larger than its predecessors, this version of the exit sign solved some of the visibility problem. The sign was only useful as long as main power remained on.
As battery-backup
systems became smaller and more efficient, some exit signs began to use a dual-power system. Under normal conditions, the exit sign was lit by main power and the battery
was in a charge state. In the event of a power outage, the battery would supply power to light the sign. It continued to discharge until main power returned to the unit or the battery was no longer able to provide sufficient power to light the sign. Early battery-backup systems were big, heavy, and costly. Modern systems are lightweight, can be installed virtually anywhere, and are integrated into the fixture, rather than requiring a separate box. As batteries improved, so did the amount of time that a fixture could remain lit on batteries.
While exit signs were more visible due to large letters, even a 60-watt bulb shown through a plastic or glass cover (see image), could appear somewhat dim under certain conditions. With the development of fluorescent lamp
and light-emitting diode
technology, exit signs could be made even brighter to show up in the limited visibility of a fire situation, and/or use less electricity. LED signs combine a large number of bright light-emitting diodes to illuminate the sign from inside. Fluorescent lamps work in the same way as incandescent bulbs, back-lighting both sides of an exit fixture from within. Because an exit sign is constantly lit, fluorescent bulbs need to be changed more often than LEDs, although the almost nonexistent on/off cycles extend the life of fluorescent lamps significantly. Generally, LEDs have a very long life, and may last for 10 years or more of continuous use, although the brightness may diminish. LEDs aren't usually brighter than incandescents, but consume much less electricity. Incandescent bulbs are still in use, because they are cheap and common, even though they use more electricity and require more or less frequent replacement. Bulbs lit 24/7 will have a greatly extended lifespan.
In recent years, radioluminescent and phosphorescent signs require no electricity have also been developed. Radioluminescence
uses the radioactive decay of tritium
to light the sign, while phosphorescence
uses light-emitting phosphors to glow in the dark. While both of these signs meet California State Fire Marshall standards, where practical, electricity is used in the vast majority of signs.
Modern exit signs in the United States
and Canada
can be seen over every path to an exit in commercial and large residential buildings that comply with fire code. Certain circumstances, such as the year a building was built, may leave it exempt from some of these codes. In most situations, the owner of the building complies regarding exit signs. This is especially true in older buildings that serve as multiple residences, such as apartment buildings, hotels, and campus dormitories
. Modern fixtures are usually in a rugged plastic or metal housing securely bolted to the wall or ceiling. The signs have the word EXIT, or a picture representing exit, on both sides. Single-sided signs are also available for wall-mount installations. The signs often have metal or plastic knock-outs which can be removed so that an arrow is also lit pointing left or right.
Many modern exit signs are combined with other safety devices, such as emergency floodlighting, as shown above. Exit signs draw a relatively small amount of power, and can generally be added onto any existing electrical circuit without adverse effects. Modern exit signs are also, to some degree, flame retardant.
Most recently, LEC (light emitting capacitor
) exit signs have come to market. Drawing only 1/4W of power with an operational life of 30+ years and far exceeding the actual 5 year life of an LED sign, LEC exit signs are a new option for architects and engineers.
backup systems are the standard way of complying with new building code requiring that exit signs be permanently lit. Early systems were bulky and expensive, and generally unsuited for use with exit signs. Part of the reason for this was that they used lead acid batteries to supply the power to light an incandescent bulb when the power fails. This made early incandescent battery backup systems large, heavy, and costly.
Modern exit signs use much less power. LED, fluorescent, and new incandescent signs only require 3-12 volts to be fully lit, depending on the sign. All battery backed signs include a transformer
, which reduces the mains current to charge the battery and operate the sign.
LEDs are electronic
diodes, and as such the entire sign can be run directly off of the low voltage power supplied by the battery. Modern incandescent bulbs resemble flashlight
bulbs, and are extremely bright while only using a few watt
s of power. They can also be lit directly from the battery. The primary bulbs in fluorescent signs are high voltage, but the signs include a second set of incandescent bulbs. In the event of a power outage, the sign automatically switches to the lower voltage bulbs. Most battery backup systems use NiCd batteries, which last a few years before needing replacement. Cadmium
is a heavy metal and requires proper disposal, so other battery types such as NiMH might be environmentally preferable.
Some manufacturers have replaced batteries with capacitors. This makes the product more environmentally friendly, as it contains only conventional electronics. The Capacitor's lifetime is equal to LED's lifetime, eliminating the need for frequent battery change. Typically these types of exit signs use the latest super- or ultracapacitors together with high power LEDs.
instead of an electrical current, and are available in models that are rated to last up to 20 years. The half-life
of tritium is 12.5 years and is hermetically sealed in a glass tube, and poses little risk of radiation exposure. (One manufacturer claims that if a person were enclosed in a 10' X 10' room and all the tubes on the sign were to break, they would be exposed to an amount of radiation similar to that used in a dental x-ray.) They are prohibited in some areas. Proper disposal of the radioactive material is required by law, and is generally included in the initial purchase price.
, Australia
, New Zealand
, Japan
, South Korea
and China
, exit signs have green
lettering. (In this color scheme, red is used to show prohibited activities.) In most European counties pictograms are used in place of the word "exit". European sign directive 92/58/EEC of 24th June 1992 indicates that the signs should be green in colour indicating a safe place of exit. BS EN 1838:1999, BS 5266-7:1999 also governs the emergency lighting applications.
In United States
and Canada
exit signs can have either red or green lettering, but usually red. This is due to states or cities enacting building codes which specify the sign color. For example, in Maryland and Los Angeles
, green is required. New Jersey
, and Chicago
require that exit signs have red text.
The Canadian National Building codes requires "red letters on a contrasting background or white letters on a red background, at least 114 mm high with 19 mm stroke spelling EXIT or SORTIE when the sign is internally illuminated".
Newly installed exit signs in Australia
are green with white "running man" figure. (AS2293) Canada
's 2010 National Building Code
, released in November 2010, also calls for a switch from the North American red EXIT/SORTIE signs to the international ISO 'green running man' signs but in air ports in canada the signs must have french and english(CAN/ULC-S572). It is expected to be adopted into the codes of each province within a few months.
Emergency exit
An emergency exit in a structure is a special exit for emergencies such as a fire: the combined use of regular and special exits allows for faster evacuation, while it also provides an alternative if the route to the regular exit is blocked by fire, etc....
, guiding people to the closest exit in case of fire or other emergency. Most relevant codes
Code (law)
A code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted, by a process of codification. Though the process and motivations for codification are similar in common law and civil law...
(fire, building
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
, health or safety) require exit signs to be permanently lit. Exit signs are designed to be absolutely unmistakable and understandable to anyone.
Most exit signs around the world are in pictogram
Pictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
form, with or without text supplement. There has been a shift towards the adoption of such exit signs in the recent decade. A small minority of nations adhered to the exit signs that show the word "EXIT" (or similar in another language). The English word "exit" comes directly from the Latin word meaning "(he or she) goes out."
Since visibility may be reduced in a fire, due to smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
or failure of electric lighting, the sign is often permanently illuminated, usually by one of:
- RadioluminescenceRadioluminescenceRadioluminescence is the phenomenon by which luminescence is produced in a material by the bombardment of ionizing radiation such as beta particles.-Tritium:...
, ("traser"), self-luminous, where a phosphorPhosphorA phosphor, most generally, is a substance that exhibits the phenomenon of luminescence. Somewhat confusingly, this includes both phosphorescent materials, which show a slow decay in brightness , and fluorescent materials, where the emission decay takes place over tens of nanoseconds...
coating inside a glassGlassGlass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
tube glows due to the beta decayBeta decayIn nuclear physics, beta decay is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle is emitted from an atom. There are two types of beta decay: beta minus and beta plus. In the case of beta decay that produces an electron emission, it is referred to as beta minus , while in the case of a...
of radioactive tritiumTritiumTritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
in the tube. Radioluminescence exit signs are prohibited in US Department of DefenseUnited States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
installations. - PhotoluminescencePhotoluminescencePhotoluminescence is a process in which a substance absorbs photons and then re-radiates photons. Quantum mechanically, this can be described as an excitation to a higher energy state and then a return to a lower energy state accompanied by the emission of a photon...
('glow in the dark'), PhosphorescencePhosphorescencePhosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs. The slower time scales of the re-emission are associated with "forbidden" energy state transitions in quantum...
, where light is absorbed from the surroundings and slowly re-emitted. - Electric light, with a local rechargeable power sourceRechargeable batteryA rechargeable battery or storage battery is a group of one or more electrochemical cells. They are known as secondary cells because their electrochemical reactions are electrically reversible. Rechargeable batteries come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging anything from a button cell to...
. - Electric light, with the building's emergency lighting circuits providing back-up powerEmergency power systemEmergency power systems are a type of system, which may include lighting, generators, fuel cells and other apparatus, to provide backup power resources in a crisis or when regular systems fail. They find uses in a wide variety of settings from residential homes to hospitals, scientific...
from a UPSUninterruptible power supplyAn uninterruptible power supply, also uninterruptible power source, UPS or battery/flywheel backup, is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source, typically mains power, fails...
and/or a generatorMotor-generatorA motor-generator is a device for converting electrical power to another form. Motor-generator sets are used to convert frequency, voltage, or phase of power. They may also be used to isolate electrical loads from the electrical power supply line...
in case normal power fails.
History
Early exit signs were generally either made of metal and lit by a nearby incandescent light bulbIncandescent light bulb
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
or were a white glass cover with EXIT written in red that fit directly over a single-bulb light fixture
Light fixture
A light fixture, light fitting, or luminaire is an electrical device used to create artificial light and/or illumination, by use of an electric lamp...
. The inherent flaws with these designs were that, in a fire, the power to the light often failed. In addition, the fixtures could be difficult to see in a fire where smoke often reduced visibility, despite being relatively bright. The biggest problem was the exit sign being hardly distinguishable from a ordinary safety lighting fixture commonly installed above doors in the past. The problem was partially solved by using red-tinted globes instead.
Better signs were soon developed that more resembled today's modern exit sign, with an incandescent bulb inside a rectangular-shaped box that backlit the word "EXIT" on one or both sides. Being larger than its predecessors, this version of the exit sign solved some of the visibility problem. The sign was only useful as long as main power remained on.
As battery-backup
Rechargeable battery
A rechargeable battery or storage battery is a group of one or more electrochemical cells. They are known as secondary cells because their electrochemical reactions are electrically reversible. Rechargeable batteries come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging anything from a button cell to...
systems became smaller and more efficient, some exit signs began to use a dual-power system. Under normal conditions, the exit sign was lit by main power and the battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
was in a charge state. In the event of a power outage, the battery would supply power to light the sign. It continued to discharge until main power returned to the unit or the battery was no longer able to provide sufficient power to light the sign. Early battery-backup systems were big, heavy, and costly. Modern systems are lightweight, can be installed virtually anywhere, and are integrated into the fixture, rather than requiring a separate box. As batteries improved, so did the amount of time that a fixture could remain lit on batteries.
While exit signs were more visible due to large letters, even a 60-watt bulb shown through a plastic or glass cover (see image), could appear somewhat dim under certain conditions. With the development of fluorescent lamp
Fluorescent lamp
A fluorescent lamp or fluorescent tube is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity to excite mercury vapor. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light. A fluorescent lamp converts electrical power into useful...
and light-emitting diode
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
technology, exit signs could be made even brighter to show up in the limited visibility of a fire situation, and/or use less electricity. LED signs combine a large number of bright light-emitting diodes to illuminate the sign from inside. Fluorescent lamps work in the same way as incandescent bulbs, back-lighting both sides of an exit fixture from within. Because an exit sign is constantly lit, fluorescent bulbs need to be changed more often than LEDs, although the almost nonexistent on/off cycles extend the life of fluorescent lamps significantly. Generally, LEDs have a very long life, and may last for 10 years or more of continuous use, although the brightness may diminish. LEDs aren't usually brighter than incandescents, but consume much less electricity. Incandescent bulbs are still in use, because they are cheap and common, even though they use more electricity and require more or less frequent replacement. Bulbs lit 24/7 will have a greatly extended lifespan.
In recent years, radioluminescent and phosphorescent signs require no electricity have also been developed. Radioluminescence
Radioluminescence
Radioluminescence is the phenomenon by which luminescence is produced in a material by the bombardment of ionizing radiation such as beta particles.-Tritium:...
uses the radioactive decay of tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
to light the sign, while phosphorescence
Phosphorescence
Phosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs. The slower time scales of the re-emission are associated with "forbidden" energy state transitions in quantum...
uses light-emitting phosphors to glow in the dark. While both of these signs meet California State Fire Marshall standards, where practical, electricity is used in the vast majority of signs.
Modern installations
Most exit signs in the world, except in countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, Philippines, and Singapore are of pictogram type. Australia and Singapore have made changes to their respective life safety codes in the direction of pictogram use. In the US, New York City has endorsed a new code requiring high rises to have glow in the dark exit signs with a pictogram (ISO). In Thailand, most exit signs are in any running-man pictogram (ISO).Modern exit signs in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
can be seen over every path to an exit in commercial and large residential buildings that comply with fire code. Certain circumstances, such as the year a building was built, may leave it exempt from some of these codes. In most situations, the owner of the building complies regarding exit signs. This is especially true in older buildings that serve as multiple residences, such as apartment buildings, hotels, and campus dormitories
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
. Modern fixtures are usually in a rugged plastic or metal housing securely bolted to the wall or ceiling. The signs have the word EXIT, or a picture representing exit, on both sides. Single-sided signs are also available for wall-mount installations. The signs often have metal or plastic knock-outs which can be removed so that an arrow is also lit pointing left or right.
Many modern exit signs are combined with other safety devices, such as emergency floodlighting, as shown above. Exit signs draw a relatively small amount of power, and can generally be added onto any existing electrical circuit without adverse effects. Modern exit signs are also, to some degree, flame retardant.
Most recently, LEC (light emitting capacitor
Light emitting capacitor
Light emitting capacitor, or LEC, is a term used since at least 1961 to describe electroluminescent panels. General Electric has patents dating to 1938 on flat electroluminescent panels that are still made as night lights and backlights for instrument panel displays...
) exit signs have come to market. Drawing only 1/4W of power with an operational life of 30+ years and far exceeding the actual 5 year life of an LED sign, LEC exit signs are a new option for architects and engineers.
Battery backup
BatteryBattery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
backup systems are the standard way of complying with new building code requiring that exit signs be permanently lit. Early systems were bulky and expensive, and generally unsuited for use with exit signs. Part of the reason for this was that they used lead acid batteries to supply the power to light an incandescent bulb when the power fails. This made early incandescent battery backup systems large, heavy, and costly.
Modern exit signs use much less power. LED, fluorescent, and new incandescent signs only require 3-12 volts to be fully lit, depending on the sign. All battery backed signs include a transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
, which reduces the mains current to charge the battery and operate the sign.
LEDs are electronic
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
diodes, and as such the entire sign can be run directly off of the low voltage power supplied by the battery. Modern incandescent bulbs resemble flashlight
Flashlight
A flashlight is a hand-held electric-powered light source. Usually the light source is a small incandescent lightbulb or light-emitting diode...
bulbs, and are extremely bright while only using a few watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s of power. They can also be lit directly from the battery. The primary bulbs in fluorescent signs are high voltage, but the signs include a second set of incandescent bulbs. In the event of a power outage, the sign automatically switches to the lower voltage bulbs. Most battery backup systems use NiCd batteries, which last a few years before needing replacement. Cadmium
Cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Similar to zinc, it prefers oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds and similar to mercury it shows a low...
is a heavy metal and requires proper disposal, so other battery types such as NiMH might be environmentally preferable.
Some manufacturers have replaced batteries with capacitors. This makes the product more environmentally friendly, as it contains only conventional electronics. The Capacitor's lifetime is equal to LED's lifetime, eliminating the need for frequent battery change. Typically these types of exit signs use the latest super- or ultracapacitors together with high power LEDs.
Self-luminous exit signs
Self-luminous exit signs do not require an external power source or battery backup. They use a mechanism similar to fluorescent lighting, but powered by tritiumTritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
instead of an electrical current, and are available in models that are rated to last up to 20 years. The half-life
Half-life
Half-life, abbreviated t½, is the period of time it takes for the amount of a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. The name was originally used to describe a characteristic of unstable atoms , but it may apply to any quantity which follows a set-rate decay.The original term, dating to...
of tritium is 12.5 years and is hermetically sealed in a glass tube, and poses little risk of radiation exposure. (One manufacturer claims that if a person were enclosed in a 10' X 10' room and all the tubes on the sign were to break, they would be exposed to an amount of radiation similar to that used in a dental x-ray.) They are prohibited in some areas. Proper disposal of the radioactive material is required by law, and is generally included in the initial purchase price.
Color and design
In most regions, including the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, exit signs have green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
lettering. (In this color scheme, red is used to show prohibited activities.) In most European counties pictograms are used in place of the word "exit". European sign directive 92/58/EEC of 24th June 1992 indicates that the signs should be green in colour indicating a safe place of exit. BS EN 1838:1999, BS 5266-7:1999 also governs the emergency lighting applications.
In United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
exit signs can have either red or green lettering, but usually red. This is due to states or cities enacting building codes which specify the sign color. For example, in Maryland and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, green is required. New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
require that exit signs have red text.
The Canadian National Building codes requires "red letters on a contrasting background or white letters on a red background, at least 114 mm high with 19 mm stroke spelling EXIT or SORTIE when the sign is internally illuminated".
Newly installed exit signs in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
are green with white "running man" figure. (AS2293) Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's 2010 National Building Code
National Building Code of Canada
The National Building Code of Canada is the model building code of Canada. It is issued by the Institute for Research In Construction ], a part of the National Research Council of Canada...
, released in November 2010, also calls for a switch from the North American red EXIT/SORTIE signs to the international ISO 'green running man' signs but in air ports in canada the signs must have french and english(CAN/ULC-S572). It is expected to be adopted into the codes of each province within a few months.