The document discusses emergency lighting, outlining its importance for safe building evacuations and compliance with legal requirements post-2005. It details necessary emergency lighting types and standards, including requirements for various building areas and inspections. The text emphasizes the value of risk assessments and discusses advancements in testing technology to improve reliability and reduce costs.

1. Emergency Lighting: what,
when & how?
Lighting Applications Manager
President- Societyof Light & Lighting
Richard Caple MSc MSLL

2. • What is emergency lighting?
• Emergency lighting requirements
• Technology to the rescue!

3. What is Emergency lighting?

4. What is Emergency lighting?

5. • To facilitate safe exit from the
building when the normal lighting
fails
• To allow potentially dangerous
equipment to be made safe
before evacuation
• To enable Fire Wardens & Fire
and Rescue Service to search
the building & locate missing
people
• To allow people to remain in the
building if there is no risk.
What is Emergency lighting?

6. Pre 2005: Local Fire Authority – Fire certificate
Post 2005: Responsible Person – Risk assessment!
The Responsible Person maybe the Employer, the Building Owner or the Occupier
It is an office not to comply!
Fire Brigades are the enforcing Authority. They can Enforce, Prohibit and order alterations. Failure to
comply can result in a fine or imprisonment.
What is Emergency lighting?

7. What is Emergency lighting?
New Look store, Oxford Street
• No Risk Assessment
• Inadequate staff training
• No Fire Alarm response procedure
• Fire door release mechanisms fitted to
the wrong side of the exit doors
Fine - £400,000 + £136,000 costs

8. Risk Assessment
Asses and manage risks
Provide appropriate protection systems (such as fire alarms and emergency lighting)
Develop a policy
Implement procedures
Provide training
Conduct drills
Cary out regular maintenance
What is Emergency lighting?

9. Emergency Lighting Requirements
PowerFailure
Emergency Situation
Emergency Lighting
PowerFailure
Non-Emergency

10. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Escape
Lighting
High Risk
Area
Open AreaEscape Route
PowerFailure
Emergency Situation

11. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Escape Route Lighting
• Applies to corridors, lobbies and
staircases or open areas where escape
routes have been defined via risk
assessment
• Illumination level: 1 lux minimum along
center line of route
• Uniformity (max:min)= 40:1
• Risk asses, maybe more than 1 lux is
required?

12. • >60m2 open area anti panic lighting
• Illumination Level: 0.5 lux minimum
(excluding 0.5m border)
• Uniformity (max:min) = 40:1
• Areas less the 60m² may need
emergency lighting is deemed by the
risk assessment.
Emergency Lighting Requirements
Open Area Lighting

13. • Safe termination of hazardous activity
• Safe passage / rescue access
• Illumination level: 10% of normal mains
lighting, or 15Lux, which ever is greater
Emergency Lighting Requirements
High Risk Lighting

14. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Safety Lighting
(Stay Put)
PowerFailure
Non-Emergency
Standby Lighting

15. • Must be Risk Assessed
• What is the risk to people?
• What task are you asking them to do?
– Open areas – 1lx
– Escape routes – 1lx
– Low difficulty task – 5lx
– Medium difficulty task – 15lx
– High difficulty task – 50lx
• System duration? If 3 hours, evacuate
the building after 2 hours
Emergency Lighting Requirements
Safety Lighting

16. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Standby Lighting
Providing full output if mains fails via UPS/generator

17. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Points of Emphasis
• Stairs so that each flight receives direct light
• Changes in level
• Changes of escape route direction
• Corridor intersections
• First aid posts
• Fire alarm call points or pieces of fire fighting equipment
• External areas in the immediate vicinity of final exits
• Moving stairways and walkways
• Motor generator, control and plant rooms
• Lift cars
• Covered car parks
• Areas of refuge
• Toilet facilities exceeding 8m² or any multiple closet facility
without borrowed light
• All other areas as deemed by the Risk Assessment

18. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Illuminance for specific locations

19. Emergency Lighting Requirements
BSEN 1838

20. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Place of safety

21. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Exit Signage

22. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Exit Signage
• Required to ensure ESCAPE
ROUTES are apparent from any
location
• Should be conspicuous
• Consider smoke accumulation

23. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Clear and unambiguous instructions!
Which way?

24. Emergency Lighting Requirements
Which way?
• Sign types should not be mixed within a
building
• Older types of sign formats may still be
used for existing buildings
• New buildings should use ISO7010
format as referenced in BS5266
ISO7010 sign format
Clear and unambiguous instructions!

25. Inspection& testing
• Daily
• Central battery cabinets only
• Visual inspection to ensure the system is in a ready condition
• Monthly
• Short duration test
• To ensure that all emergency luminaires illuminate correctly (lamps and batteries are working)
• Annually
• Full duration test
• To ensure that all emergency luminaires illuminate correctly and fully achieve duration required (3 hours)
Emergency Lighting Requirements

26. Inspection& testing
All testing records must be kept off site!
Emergency Lighting Requirements

27. Technology to the rescue!
Automatic testing systems

28. Technology to the rescue!
Benefits:
Option 1 : Manual testing
Pros : Easy to specify and install equipment, attractive capital costs
Cons: Time consuming testing, high labour costs, un-proactive
Option 2 : Autotest
Pros : Reliable testing, reduced labour costs
Cons: Higher capital costs, still requires visual inspection, partly proactive
Option 3 : Autotest + networked system
Pros : Reliable testing, minimal labour costs, proactive, off site record keeping
Cons: High capital costs, potentially high installations costs

29. Wireless automatic testing systems
Technology to the rescue!

30. Technology to the rescue!

31. Technology to the rescue!
Option 1 : Manual test
Labour intensive testing regime, high maintenance costs
£50.85 pupa
(Inclusive of labour for testing and
maintenance)
Option 2 : Autotest
Reduced testing labour, high maintenance costs
£24.10 pupa
(Inclusive of labour for testing and
maintenance)
Option 3 : Autotest + Networked system
No manual testing, reduced maintenance costs
£11.87 pupa
(Inclusive of labour for testing and
maintenance)

32. Final thoughts
Greater importance of Fire Risk Assessments
Risk assessments, safety lighting + new risks (such as threat of
terrorism) will drive the use of automated ‘intelligent’ systems
Communication between emergency lighting system and fire alarm
system