Emergency Lighting
// Fire Compliance
Emergency Lighting
Emergency lighting is lighting for an emergency situation when the main power supply is cut and normal electrical illumination fails. The loss of mains electricity could be the result of a fire or a power cut. Lack of emergency lighting could lead to sudden darkness and possible danger to occupants.
Emergency lighting is normally required to operate fully automatically and give illumination of a sufficiently high level to enable all occupants to evacuate the premises safely.
The British Standard provides the emergency lighting designer with clear guidelines to work to. BS 5266-1 relates to hotels, clubs, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and colleges, licensed premises, offices, museums, shops & of course multi-storey dwellings. Although the standard recommends the types and backup durations for each category of premises, it should be remembered that standards define a minimum requirement and that a higher specification may be required for a particular application.
What is emergency escape lighting?
Emergency escape lighting is part of an emergency lighting system that provides illumination for the safety of people leaving a location or attempting to terminate a potentially dangerous process beforehand. It is part of the fire safety provision of a building and a requirement of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Emergency escape lighting is subdivided into three core areas:
Escape route lighting
Identifies the escape route and keeps it sufficiently lit. This includes illuminated fire exit signs but also emergency lighting such as emergency lighting bulkheads.
Open area lighting
Ensures that there is sufficient illumination to allow the occupants of a building to reach a place where an escape route can be identified.
High risk task area lighting
A key part of an emergency escape lighting system that provides illumination for the safety of people involved in a potentially dangerous process or situation and to enable proper shut-down procedures for the safety of the operator and other occupants of the premises.
Consultation and Design
The first stage of installing emergency escape lighting is consultation and design. ADL Group meet with designers, responsible persons and fire risk assessors to decide where the escape lighting is required and mark up a plan showing the areas to be covered, the type (power supply), mode of operation, facilities and duration of emergency lighting to be provided in the event of an emergency.
Service & Maintenance
Monthly emergency lighting tests
- All emergency lighting systems must be tested monthly. The test is a short functional test in accordance with BS EN 50172 / BS 5266-8
- During this period, all luminaires and signs shall be checked to ensure that they are present, clean and functioning correctly.
Annual emergency lighting tests
- A test for the full rated duration of the emergency lights (e.g. 3 hours) must be carried out. The emergency lights must still be working at the end of this test.
- The result of the monthly and annual tests must be recorded and, if failures are detected, these must be remedied as soon as possible.
ADL Group offer a range of attractive service and maintenance contracts across all sectors to ensure systems are fully functional at all times, and that clients remain fully compliant.