Introduction to Emergency Lighting

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO) 2005, which came into force in October 2006, charges the
responsible person in control of non-domestic premises and the common areas of a House in Multiple Occupancy
(HMO) with the safety of everyone in the building, whether working, visiting or living there. This duty of care includes
the provision of emergency lighting. Article 14 (2) (h) of the RRFSO states:
More Information
Emergency routes and exits requiring illumination must be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in
the case of failure of their normal lighting.
Emergency lighting is part of the fire safety provision of a building and cannot be ignored: as noted by the Industry
Committee for Emergency Lighting (ICEL), which is the foremost UK authority on emergency lighting and provides
third party accreditation for components and products for emergency light fittings under the auspices of the Lighting
Industry Association (LIA):
The legal requirement is that non-domestic buildings must be safe at all times, even if mains power failure occurs.
Therefore, nearly all such buildings must have emergency lighting fitted.
The responsible person
The umbrella standard for emergency lighting is BS 5266-1 (Code of practice for emergency lighting). The British
Standards Institution (BSi) guide to this code describes the duties of the responsible person as follows:
The responsible person has to be able to demonstrate that the hardware of fire safety systems and their
maintenance are adequate to protect the occupants. Fire protection products and related services should be fit for
their purpose and properly installed and maintained in accordance with the manufacturers instructions or the relevant
British Standard. (A Guide to Emergency Lighting Second Edition, 2012, p 211)
Even though this duty of care can in practice often be shared or delegated, it remains a daunting prospect for lay
people who have no knowledge of fire safety and find themselves in the position of being legally accountable for the
protection and well being of others in this regard
The responsible person can be anyone who has some control over a building or areas within it, including inter alia
facilities management companies, landlords and lettings agents.
Emergency lighting systems: what is involved?
Following the fire risk assessment (FRA), which will surface the various issues that have to be addressed, the
procedure in respect of emergency lighting will be:
Planning and design of the system
Positioning of emergency lighting luminaires (wall / ceiling mounted lights and signs)
Permanent installation of all fittings
Periodic testing / maintenance of the system
Every building will have its own specific requirements in respect of emergency escape illumination, the role of which,
as noted above, is to take over from the normal lighting provision in the event of a power or circuit failure. Of course,
these levels of normal lighting will vary, even within an individual building. Different areas inside will have different
levels of natural illumination: for example, rooms with external windows have the benefit of daylight, while unglazed,
internal areas such as corridors and stairwells must always have lighting provided. If a building is occupied at night,
there must usually be provision for emergency lighting in all areas, including those that are naturally lit during the day.
One exception may be in the case of borrowed light from external street lamps (switched on during the hours of
occupancy of the premises): if this is a reliable source of lighting and reaches sufficiently inside the building to
illuminate the escape routes, it can sometimes be considered sufficient, depending on who will be using them. As
noted by the HM Government Fire safety risk assessment: large places of assembly (May 2006, p 28): Exceptionally,
in the parts of the premises used by staff and where the escape routes are simple and straightforward, borrowed
lighting, e.g. from street lamps where they illuminate escape routes, may be acceptable. In other words, people who
are familiar with the building may be able to evacuate safely in the hours of darkness by borrowed light; it is never
acceptable practice, however, for members of the public to use escape routes that are only illuminated by such
means. Emergency lighting must always be provided in this case.
What is emergency lighting?
The BSi guide to emergency lighting, referenced above, explains that:
For the purposes of the British and European standard BS EN 1838, emergency lighting is the generic term for
equipment that provides illumination in the event of failure of supply to the normal lighting (p. 1). There are two main
types of emergency lighting: (i) emergency escape lighting; (ii) standby lighting (p. 2).
Emergency escape lighting is defined as that part of emergency lighting that is provided to enable safe exit in the
event of failure of the normal supply.
Standby lighting is defined as that part of the emergency lighting provided to enable normal activities to continue in
the event of failure of the normal mains supply.
The guide further offers this important distinction between emergency escape lighting and standby lighting: while the
former constitutes part of the fire protection of a building, the latter does not (unless it meets the same equipment
design and installation requirements as emergency escape lighting systems). As such, from the point of view of fire
safety provision, emergency escape lighting is the significant type of emergency lighting, and will be the focus of the
remainder of this article.
Emergency escape lighting
There are three main aspects of emergency escape lighting: 1) escape route lighting; 2) open area / anti-panic area
lighting; 3) high risk task area lighting.
1. Escape route lighting is the part of an emergency lighting system provided to enable the swift and safe evacuation
of a building by illuminating its escape routes, such as corridors and stairways, and also the location of fire-fighting
equipment, e.g. fire extinguishers and safety / security equipment such as keyboxes holding emergency keys to
exit doors. As such, escape route lighting can be seen to be a fundamental requirement of fire safety provision in
all non-domestic premises and public areas of HMOs, whatever their use or occupancy levels.
2. Large public buildings such as shopping malls, museums and exhibition halls, etc., attract significant numbers of
visitors who will not be familiar with the layout of the premises. Panic may therefore ensue should emergency
evacuation be triggered by the sounding of the fire alarm. Open area / anti-panic lighting is relevant in such
situations to aid in the identification of escape routes and exits and the guidance of people towards them.
3. High risk task lighting is a specific type of emergency lighting provided to ensure the safety of people involved in a
potentially dangerous process or situation. It must be sufficient to enable the requisite shut-down procedures to be
implemented. This type of lighting will only apply across a limited range of scenarios.
The above distinctions serve to emphasise the role of emergency escape lighting in fire safety and how it is adapted
and applied, on a case by case basis, according to the specific use and occupancy levels of a particular building and /
or areas within it.
Where is emergency escape lighting necessary?
In detail, as noted in the HM Government publication Fire safety risk assessment: offices and shops (p 100), an
emergency escape lighting system should normally cover the following:
Each exit door
Escape routes
Intersection of corridors
Outside each final exit and on external escape routes
Emergency escape signs
Stairways so that each flight receives adequate light
Changes in floor level
Windowless rooms and toilet accommodation exceeding 8m
Fire-fighting equipment
Fire alarm call points
Equipment that would need to be shut down in an emergency
Lifts
Areas in premises greater than 60m
It is not necessary to provide individual lights (luminaires) for each item above, but there should be a sufficient overall
level of light to allow them to be visible and usable.
What are emergency lighting luminaires?
There are two main types of luminaire, the relevant standard for which is BS EN 60598-2-22: self-contained and
centrally supplied.
The self-contained luminaire, as it name suggests, contains all the essential components (i.e. battery, charger, control
unit, lamp, diffuser and any test or monitoring facility) for it to function as an independent emergency light. As noted in
the Fire Protection Association (FPA) Emergency Lighting Handbook (2012), this is the most common form of
emergency lighting and is usually designed to be fitted to a wall or ceiling to illuminate a certain area or building
feature. A typical example is the surface-mounted, rectangular bulkhead luminaire, although a wide range of self-
contained luminaires is available including square, round and recessed / inset models.
Centrally supplied luminaires, also known as slaves because they cannot function independently, are defined by BS
EN 60598-2-22: 1998 as follows: luminaire for maintained or non-maintained operation which is energized from a
central emergency power system that is not contained within the luminaire. Slave fittings contain the lamp and some
of the control gear but the charger, battery and often the changeover device are located remotely and provide the
supply to a number of luminaires. Again, the luminaires themselves come in a range of shapes and styles. The FPA
handbook, referenced above, contains a useful table highlighting the pros and cons of slave versus self-contained
luminaires (p 21):
Central power sources Self-contained
Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages
Less expensive Separate wiring Ease / speed of installation Limited lamp power
Long battery life if
maintained
Regular battery
maintenance
Flexible, extendibility Operation limit to battery operation
temperature
Few temperature effects Loss when central system in
fire
No battery room required Shorter life batteries
Easier / automatic testing Battery cabinet often
required
No regular battery
maintenance
Not suited to harsh or hazardous
environments
Real time monitoring Limited flexibility No loss of total system Cost of periodic testing greater
Maintained, non-maintained and switchable emergency lighting
As noted in the HM Government guide to fire safety in offices and shops, referenced above:
Emergency escape lighting can be both maintained, i.e. on all the time, or non-maintained, which only operates
when the normal lighting fails. Systems or individual lighting units (luminaires) are designed to operate for durations
of between one and three hours after the mains power supply fails. In practice, the three-hour design is the most
popular and can help with maintaining limited continued use of the premises during a power failure (other than in an
emergency situation) (p 100).
Maintained emergency lights usually have two values for lumens (the measure of luminous flux, i.e. light flow, from a
light source) in their technical description: a value for the output when the light is powered by the mains supply and
another for the output when the emergency light is powered by the back-up battery. The latter is usually around 10
per cent of the full output.
Maintained emergency lights are often available as switchable units. This means that they can be switched between
maintained and non-maintained modes of operation using an ordinary, wall-mounted light switch. This is useful in
areas where there is no requirement for constant lighting, e.g. stairwells in a high-rise block of flats, where the light is
only required when somebody takes the stairs instead of the lift. The emergency lights will, of course, still come on in
case of a power failure, even when the switch is in the off position. However, as indicated above, the emergency
light output will be about 90 per cent lower than usual.
A disadvantage of non-maintained emergency lighting is that the condition of the lamp can only be ascertained
through regular testing; it is no good waiting for a power cut to discover that it isnt working. This problem can be
overcome, however, by installing self-testing emergency lights.
Non-maintained operation is usually favoured wherever possible, being cheaper in terms of energy consumption and
the life of the fittings components. In some premises, however, such as theatres and cinemas, the luminaires must
always be lit, i.e. in maintained mode, so there is sometimes no choice in the matter.
In respect of maintained emergency lighting in areas where high levels of light are normally required, for example in
the corridors of office blocks, a combined or sustained emergency luminaire can be installed. This type of unit
contains two or more lamps, at least one of which is energised by the emergency supply and the rest by mains
electricity. The mains powered part of these lights can usually be controlled by ordinary light switches. Typically, all
the lamps will be lit under normal circumstances, but if the electricity supply should fail just the emergency lamp(s)
will come on, powered by the battery.
Illuminated signs
Emergency luminaires are also available as signs; a typical example is the pictogram of the man running either
through or towards an open doorway, with a directional arrow. Others may also bear some text, e.g. Fire Exit.
These lighting units are available in both maintained and non-maintained versions in a range of styles, from the
simple box type through to the elegant blade design with a slimline body. They can be wall or ceiling mounted or
suspended from high ceilings with decorative chains. Pictograms and pictograms with text should not be mixed in the
same premises.
Another type of illuminated sign is the photoluminescent or glow-in-the-dark style, which again shows the man
running with directional arrow and doorway, plus the words Exit or Fire Exit. These are available in three different
sizes for wall mounting. These are not luminaires as such, but do serve to mark the fire escape route.
Way-guidance equipment
Photoluminescent marker tape, paint and floor discs are also useful for low level marking of escape routes,
particularly at changes of level in the building, e.g. stairwells and uneven floors. As noted in the HM Government
guidance reference above (p 101):
To complement emergency escape lighting, people, especially those unfamiliar with the premises, can be helped to
identify exit routes by the use of way-guidance equipment. Way-guidance systems usually comprise
photoluminescent material, lines of LEDs, or strips of miniature incandescent lamps, forming a continuous marked
escape route at lower level. These systems have proved particularly effective when people have to escape through
smoke, and for partially-sighted people. They can be particularly useful in premises where they can provide marked
routes on floors and in multi-storey premises they can direct people to escape routes which are seldom used.
LED emergency lighting: the way ahead?
With the focus increasingly on protecting the environment as well as energy and cost saving, the Light Emitting Diode
(LED) is becoming an increasingly popular choice of light source for emergency lighting luminaires. In addition, the
government is currently offering a financial incentive to switch to low energy products: the Enhanced Capital
Allowance (ECA) scheme enables businesses to claim a 100% first year capital allowance on investments in certain
energy saving equipment, against the taxable profits of the period of investment.
LEDs contain no mercury and their low energy consumption, high efficiency and long life (typically 10 years) mean
they are more environmentally sound than almost any other type of light source. They come on instantly, unlike some
energy saving bulbs, and the fact that they are much smaller than, for example, the traditional fluorescent tube means
that there is scope for much more stylish designs in emergency luminaires. State of the art models even incorporate
three self-tests: a continuous battery test, a lamp test and a duration test. Over the lifetime of the product, this
represents a significant reduction in maintenance costs.
Maintenance and testing of emergency escape lighting
Government guidelines (Fire safety risk assessment: offices and shops, p 101) state that all emergency escape
lighting systems should be regularly tested and properly maintained to an appropriate standard (i.e. BS 5266 Code
of practice for the emergency lighting of premises). This testing has traditionally been undertaken manually although,
as noted above, emergency luminaires are available with a self-test facility.
Depending on the type of installation, trained members of staff should be able to carry out most of the routine tests by
themselves. As the test methods will vary, there may be some doubt, in which case it is recommended that advice is
sought from the supplier or another competent person.
A typical test is via a key operated switch that is located either near the main fuse board or adjacent to relevant light
switches. This is also known as a secret key switch, as it designed to allow testing of emergency lights while
preventing non-authorised operation of the test switch.
Testing would usually include the following:
A daily visual check of any central controls if a centrally powered system with slave luminaires is installed;
A monthly function test by operating the test facility for a period sufficient to ensure that each emergency lamp
illuminates; and
An annual full discharge test to ensure that the lamps are lit for the full discharge period (usually 3 hours) and that
the batteries are re-charging
Particular care needs to be taken following a full discharge test. Batteries typically take 24 hours to re-charge and the
premises should not be re-occupied until the emergency lighting system is full functioning, unless alternative
arrangements have been made.
It is best practice to keep a record of all tests in the fire safety logbook.
Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI)
At the cutting edge of emergency lighting technology is DALI an international standard created specifically for digital
lighting control. It guarantees the compatibility of products from different manufacturers and thus enables the
combination of lighting solutions and various types of luminaire in a single installation. A DALI addressable
emergency lighting system also performs all the requisite scheduled tests to BS 5266: each luminaire in the system
reports its test results back to the central panel or computer and, if a fault is detected, the unique address of the
luminaire means that the source as well as the nature of the problem is immediately identified. Up to 120 luminaires
can be controlled and monitored by a DALI touchscreen panel and, with the possibility of networking up to 10 such
panels, a maximum of 1200 emergency luminaires can be monitored, with minimal maintenance costs.