SPECIAL FEATURE
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
TESTING TIMES FOR EMERGENCY LIGHTING Mike Collins, Sales Director at OVIA, looks at the self-test area of the emergency lighting sector and how it can save building owners time and money.
E
mergency lighting is a legal requirement in almost every building, with one simple, life-saving task: to provide light if a power outage shuts down a building’s standard operational lighting. It is the responsibility of building owners and responsible persons to prove that the emergency lighting systems they are responsible for are working correctly and are regularly maintained so that they are in full working order. All emergency lighting installations must have routine tests carried out, in accordance with BS EN50712, with each system luminaire the subject of daily, monthly and annual testing. These tests should all be documented with the results, including maintenance and rectification results, all held on file. Whilst the testing of emergency lighting does not take much effort and isn’t difficult, manually inspecting every single lighting luminaire for lamp starting, operation and duration performance can be a very labour
All emergency lighting installations must have routine tests carried out
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intensive and expensive task. However, with the latest improvements in technology, routine testing can be simple, automatic and therefore much less expensive. It is now possible for building owners to take advantage of emergency lighting equipment that ‘self-tests’ in accordance with the relevant standards. Installing self-test emergency lighting units can reduce the burden of testing emergency lighting installations as they perform all mandatory testing automatically, removing the need for manual testing to be carried out by the user or building owner. The resulting reduction of labour time leads to inevitable cost savings. Whilst the initial costs for the products may be higher, overall they will provide a very short payback period making them an ideal option that should be given consideration at the beginning of any project. The benefits of self-test emergency light units include ease of installation, with no need for key switches or data cables, for example. Convenience is also a major plus, with mandatory tests carried out without disruption to the normal use of the building, and any faults identified. The self-test units identify faults in luminaires and any faults are then highlighted to maintenance personnel, saving them the time and effort it would take to search the building in question for faults. Self-test units use an accurate internal clock programmed to interrupt the permanent mains supply at set intervals, initiating emergency lighting tests. Short duration weekly and monthly tests and annual full duration tests are automatically
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activated, with the results shown via an LED indicator on the light. The responsible person only needs to check the indicator and it means that only lights with reported faults will need to be attended to by maintenance personnel. During initial power up of a self-test unit, an automatic commissioning stage will begin. The internal clock will commence at a random time between 0 and 24 hours – this avoids the luminaires all going into test at the same time. After the initial charge up time (up to 72 hours), the unit will carry out a full duration test. After all initial tests are completed successfully, the inbuilt processor will start the standard programmed test schedule, reporting failing functions via the status LED. In addition, it is also possible to initiate a manual test on self-test emergency lighting fittings for extra peace of mind. Emergency light test switches offer a simple, retrofit solution to testing existing emergency lighting fittings. They are designed to test batteries, lamps and duration function of emergency lighting luminaires in accordance with current emergency lighting standard BS5266. These automatic, key-operated emergency lighting test switches are permanently wired to the emergency luminaire supply. The key switch is used to interrupt the supply for a pre-programmed period of time. At the end of that period, the supply to the luminaries is automatically reinstated, so there’s no risk of depleting the batteries in the emergency fitting by leaving them connected for prolonged periods. OVIA, oviauk.com
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17/12/2020 10:08
