Emergency lighting is an important feature in a wide variety of environments. In fact, the law in the UK states that all occupied buildings must be fitted with emergency lighting to ensure the safety of everyone in the building. Today’s blog post from London Electricians focuses on what emergency lighting is and how it works.
The requirement for emergency lighting comes under Fire Precautions Regulations 1997 & BS5266 in part one for the workplace. It states that building owners must have luminaries in place and are required to test their emergency lighting regularly to ensure that it is in full working order.
Emergency lighting for an Escape Route
An escape route must be lit by at least one light during an emergency evacuation. Additionally, if the escape route in your building is a corridor, it must free of obstructions that could slow down the evacuation.
Emergency Lighting for Stairwells
Stairwells pose another risk during evacuations and because of this, there must be a minimum of two emergency lights covering this area.
Emergency Lighting for an Open Area
As is the case for an escape route, one emergency light must be used in open area. However, in cases where the open area does not exceed sixty square metres, emergency lighting will not be required. It must still be noted that emergency exit doors will still be required to have emergency lighting above them in order to guide users of the building accordingly.
Types of Emergency Lighting
Two of the most common types of emergency lighting are maintained and non-maintained, however, there are also several other types that you may choose for your workplace.
Maintained lights are controlled the same as all other lights in the building. When power fails, these lights will still work, but at a lower lux level.
Non-maintained lights will generally be switched off, but their LED display should state that they are fully charged. Should a power cut occur, a fitting connected to the lights will turn on the battery supply.
Other examples of emergency lighting, include combined lights, combined self-contained lights and satellite emergency lights.
London Electricians
Here at London Electricians, our dedicated team are fully qualified to carry out fire alarm servicing and emergency lighting installation and replacement.
To make an appointment with us, please call 020 8728 9179 or send your enquiry through to our online contact form.
