Daily Archives: 29/03/2023

EMERGENCY LIGHTING MONITORING & TESTING – WHAT ELECTRICAL CONSULTANTS NEED TO KNOW

With each design and installation, there are several requirements to consider in relation to emergency and back-up lighting. Emergency lighting test systems are an essential safety constituent and an appropriate installation to ensure safe and correct performance, is required. There are two British Standard base guides to reference here: They are: BS 5266-1:2016 and Automatic Test Systems for Battery Powered Emergency Escape Lighting – BS EN 62034. We’ll start with the national standard, the BS 5266-1:2016.

A ‘HOW TO GUIDE’ FOR YOUR EMERGENCY LIGHTING MONITORING & TEST DESIGN

This guide has been created to support Electrical Consultants as they scope and design an emergency/back-up lighting installation with automatic testing, for either a new build or a retro-fit.
Emergency lighting test systems are a mandatory safety constituent and an appropriate installation will reference two British Standard base guides.

END USERS… ARE YOU BEING A RESPONSIBLE EMPLOYER?

Building owners or their responsible persons are legally bound to test their emergency lighting, record test results and maintain their systems.
Legal Requirements: Emergency lighting is part of the fire safety provision of a building and cannot be ignored.
As noted by the Industry Committee for Emergency Lighting (ICEL), which is the foremost UK authority on emergency lighting and provides third party accreditation for components and products for emergency light fittings under the auspices of the Lighting Industry Association (LIA):

SCHOOL LABORATORIES – GUIDELINES FOR COMPLIANT EMERGENCY LIGHTING

School laboratories would be classified as “high risk” areas due to their being scientific equipment, bunsen burners, chemically filled beakers/volumetric flasks etc.
BS EN 1838:2013 4.4 states that
“high risk areas require high risk area lighting to which would require not less than 10% of the required maintained illuminance for that task and not less than 15 lux.”

HOW DO YOU CALCULATE VIEWING DISTANCES FOR EXIT SIGNS MOUNTED GREATER THAN 2.5M?

BS5499-4, Clause 4.6c makes it very clear that “mounting height greater than 2.5m may be used, e.g. in large open spaces or for operational reasons, but such signs should be both conspicuous and identifiable and therefore large signs might be necessary”.
To assist evacuees with the prediction of the location of successive signs, the following principles should be applied:-