Emergency Lighting Installation & Testing
Lighting that keeps escape routes visible when the mains fails, installed and tested so you can show it works.
When the power goes off in a building full of people, the first few minutes matter. Emergency lighting switches on automatically so occupants can find the exit, see the stairs and locate firefighting equipment. Adtec Electrical installs and tests emergency lighting in offices, shops, warehouses and units. This page explains the basics in general terms; the British Standard for emergency lighting, BS 5266, sets out the detail.
Escape routes and open areas
There are a few jobs emergency lighting has to do. Escape route lighting lights the path to the exits, including changes of direction, stairs and final doors. Open-area lighting, sometimes called anti-panic lighting, gives enough light in larger rooms for people to reach an escape route. High-risk task areas, such as where machinery has to be shut down safely, may need extra light. Illuminated exit signs show the way.
Maintained and non-maintained fittings
A non-maintained fitting stays off while the mains is healthy and lights only when the supply fails. A maintained fitting is lit all the time and stays on during a failure, which suits places like shops, cinemas and venues where lights may be dimmed. Many buildings use a mix. Fittings normally have their own batteries; larger sites sometimes use a central system.
Monthly and annual tests
As general guidance, emergency lighting is given a short functional test each month to show every fitting lights when the supply is interrupted. Once a year a full-duration test checks that the batteries last for the rated period, typically one or three hours. Faults found are put right and the test repeated.
The log book
Each test, fault and repair should be written in a log book kept on site. If an inspector, insurer or fire officer asks how the system has been looked after, the log book is the answer. We record our tests in it and can help you set up a simple routine for the monthly checks.
Who decides what is needed
In a non-domestic building the responsible person, usually the employer, owner or occupier, must carry out a fire risk assessment. That assessment decides whether emergency lighting is needed and where. We install and test to the layout it calls for, and can advise on fitting positions, but the assessment itself is the responsible person's duty.
Installing as part of a wider job
Surveying an existing system
Many buildings already have emergency lighting that has not been looked at for a while. Fittings may have been removed during a refurbishment, batteries may no longer last, and the layout may not match how the building is used today. A survey checks each fitting, compares coverage against the escape routes and records what needs repairing or adding. That gives you a clear list to act on and a starting point for the log book. Where batteries or fittings have reached the end of their life, we quote for replacements so the system can be brought back to a reliable state.
Exit signs deserve a mention of their own. They must be visible from along the escape route, show the correct direction and be lit, whether by an internal lamp or by nearby emergency lighting. During refurbishments signs are often hidden by new partitions or racking, so we check sight lines as part of any survey or installation and recommend extra signs where the route has changed.
Emergency lighting is often added during an office fit-out, a warehouse relight or a change of use. Planning it with the general lighting means one set of ceiling openings and one programme. It can also be checked alongside a commercial EICR. We work Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 5:30pm, from Lyford near Wantage. See the areas we cover or call 01235 430442.