Fire Guard Services
Emergency Lighting
Emergency lighting is designed to come on when the power supply to the normal lighting provision fails or when the power supply to the building is cut off. Emergency lights are self-contained units wired to the mains that have a separate battery pack attached. This allows the lights to be powered in the event of a power failure. Units use high-intensity brightness that is focused towards a fire exit. The lights are generally low voltage, to conserve the longevity of the batteries and the bulbs.
Types of System Installations
Emergency Light servicing and maintenance
Under the British Standards code of practice for emergency lighting (BS 5266), lighting must be regularly maintained to ensure it’s in fully working order.
A service must be carried out annually, however we recommend this is done every six months and is carried out alongside your fire alarm service. This involves a one and a half to three hour duration drain down which tests the functionality of the emergency lighting.
If remedial works are required, a defect sheet is produced. Our engineers can replace any failed components, or install new units, as needed.
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Your Emergency Lighting Questions Answered
Emergency lighting is an essential part of any fire safety system and must be tested regularly in order to comply with legal requirements and to ensure it is working correctly.
We also understand that business owners may have questions about how often to test their lighting. That’s why we’ve created this short FAQ to answer some of your questions.
In order to be compliant with emergency lighting requirements, there needs to be enough lighting for people to be able to leave the premises safely in the event of an emergency. Emergency exits need an emergency exit luminaire above the door, as well as signage to the emergency exit.
Maintained emergency lighting is on at all times. Maintained emergency lights are mains powered and used as part of the normal room lighting system. But, in an emergency situation when mains power fails, it will continue to stay lit for a specific duration powered by a back-up battery.
All emergency lighting systems should be tested monthly. This is a short functional test in accordance with BS EN 50172:2004 / BS 5266-8:2004. The duration of the test should be sufficient to ensure that the luminaire operates correctly, whilst minimising any damage to the system components, e.g. lamps, battery.
