What is an emergency light fitting?
Emergency luminaries and modules have a battery as a back up power supply. The battery is continuously charged with the main power supply. In an emergency situation i.e. a power cut the emergency lighting will automatically kick in to provide light (usually 10% light output) to enable a safe exit.
What are the requirements for Emergency Lighting?
UK legislation requires all occupied business and public building escape routes and exits to have a minimum of one lux of light in an emergency situation to allow a safe exit should the mains power fail. In an emergency it is required that all emergency luminaires have power for at least 3 hours and the light output is roughly 10% normal light levels.
The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 & BS5266 part 1 – require building owners to test emergency lighting systems regularly and maintain them in proper working order.
What’s the difference between Maintained and Non-Maintained Luminaires?
Maintained luminaires operate as normal light fittings during everyday operation and can be controlled with all other luminaires in the area.
Non-maintained luminaires remain off during everyday operation, only illuminating when mains power fails.
Self-Test emergency luminaires have a built in system that automatically carries out routine testing to ensure they are working well and have no system errors; they automatically signal if there is a fault that requires action. By removing the need to test the luminaire manually, Self-Test is highly cost effective.
Who should test the emergency lighting?
The emergency lighting system must be tested by a qualified electrician as it requires the simulation of a mains power failure on the regular lighting circuit, forcing the emergency lighting system to switch to the battery supply.