Emergency lighting installation considerations

Supporting individuals to evacuate buildings safely in the event of an emergency, emergency lighting is a legal requirement in all public, commercial and high occupancy residential buildings. In this article, Chris Anderson, Technical Manager at Ansell Lighting, explores the many considerations of modern emergency lighting installations and their benefits.

Whether due to a fire, power cut or other circumstance, the main objective of any emergency lighting system is to ensure occupants can safely evacuate or occupy a building when normal illumination fails.

A legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, The Health and Safety at Work Act, Building Regulations, The EU Workplace Directive and the Fire Safety Regulations, the stringent luminous requirements for emergency escape and standby lighting are specified under the European Standard BS EN 1838.

High-risk task lighting is designed to allow those involved in a potentially dangerous process or situation to follow shut down procedures

Given the legal requirements in place, it is important that contractors consult the architect, designer and fire risk assessor for the building when embarking on an emergency lighting system installation. Every building will have its own specific requirements but there are four main stages to approach: planning and design, luminaire selection and positioning, installation, and finally, testing and maintenance.

In most buildings, emergency lighting systems should incorporate escape route lighting, open area lighting and high-risk task area lighting into its design.

Escape route lighting should provide sufficient illumination to keep exit routes lit, supporting individuals to safely leave a location, whereas open area lighting, or ‘anti-panic lighting’ as it is sometimes referred to, lights up spaces to allow occupants to both see and head to evacuation routes. High-risk task lighting is designed to allow those involved in a potentially dangerous process or situation to follow shut down procedures for the safety of the operator and other occupants of the premises.

Usually required to operate fully automatically, power source is another key consideration during the design and specification stage. Powered in two different ways, luminaires are either ‘self-contained’ which mean they are fitted with their own power supply or are powered by a ‘central battery source’ which means they are powered by a back-up source, such as a generator.

If cost is an influence in the overall design and operational objectives then a self-contained system is likely to be the most appropriate solution, with initial outlay, installation and maintenance both cheaper and faster than the alternatives. Self-contained systems also have the added benefit that they can be easily extended with additional luminaires as required.

Alternatively, emergency lighting systems operated from a central battery source can be easier to maintain as there is only one location to consider, eliminating the need to isolate and observe individual luminaries as is the norm with self-contained systems; battery life is also longer on these systems – anywhere between five and 25 years, compared with just a few years for self-contained lights. Central battery source systems are also much less susceptible to ambient temperature and air conditions, as the battery supply is housed in a protective environment.

In most cases, a combination of the two is likely to be needed to provide complete protection during times of power failure.

In terms of selecting the right kind of luminaires and where to locate them, most installations will require a combination of bulkheads, downlights, twin spotlights and exit signs to effectively light the different spaces. Size and aesthetic of the building will play a role in the final choice of luminaire.

It is, of course, a requirement that, once installed, emergency lighting systems be tested and maintained at regular intervals in accordance with the latest regulations and to ensure it is fit for purpose. Many emergency products incorporate intelligent self-test emergency technology within the luminaire, eliminating the need for manual testing.

And prevention is definitely better than cure. On a large site there are many factors that can affect compliance – for example, when buildings are being renovated, frequent power shutdowns can drain batteries and compromise worker safety. Likewise, when buildings are empty, nobody knows if emergency lighting systems are up to code. Often the only way to check is to send a specialist to the site to test equipment manually.

By using a dashboard, lighting can be centrally monitored and tested wirelessly and automatically at the touch of a button. The dashboard is able to drill down and highlight if an individual luminaire or driver is outside of expected operational parameters. This indicates that the luminaire or driver may need attention to proactively repair or replace, rather than waiting for a failure.

With economic pressures being felt across the board and working practices changing, smart lighting and controls within the emergency lighting arena are the way forward for commercial premises – not only from a safety and legislative perspective but to optimise productivity and cost efficiency too.