Guys/Gals
I have been given the task at work to ' Sort out ' the emergency lighting. I am new to the job and have little experience as an electrician, but need to do a good job on this one ( first impressions go far! )
I have 2 buildings to get through, 18 floors on each.
Some floors have all lights on, including luminated emergency signs, some floors dont have any luminated signs on. Is there a regulation stating that all emergency lights should be on at all times? One of the floors i had a quick check over didnt have any LED lights to show where the emergency lights are, is this a regulation that needs to be looked at?
Thanks for any other advice that could be of any help!
As some of the guys below have responded already, BS5266 is the base "guide" you need. Emergency lighting is covered in that Standard in various parts, depending on what your involvement is, and most likely, Part 1.
However.
As with fire alarms, the need for emergency lighting, type and duration should ALL be covered off in a Fire Risk Assessment - that is, should give you a base to work from. There is, after all, little point in maintaining any system which doesn't do the job it was intended to in the first place.
There are several types and durations of emergency lighting - and NOT ALL of them are such that you will see LED indicators on the light fittings - especially if what you are looking at is either an inverter controlled, or central battery system. It might be an idea to first ask for ANY paperwork at all which may exist for these systems.
As for illuminated exit signs......oh boy. There is NO REQUIREMENT AT ALL for illuminated exist signs. The requirement is for a BS5446 sign which can be seen in emergency conditions - and therefore, a photo-luminscent sign will do the job as well, and cheaper than an illuminated sign.
An illuminated sign (that is an emergency light fitting with a decal applied, or purpose built to be a sign which is lit) IS NOT AN EMERGENCY LIGHT FITTING. IT WILL NOT PRODUCE THE REQUIRED LIGHT OUTPUT TO QUALIFY AT THE SAME LEVEL AS A FITTING WITHOUT A DECAL APPLIED.
Safety and escape Signage is strictly a Fire Risk Assessment matter, and NOT an emergency lighting matter.
So, with any emergency lighting system, in simple terms, you are inspecting to ascertain:
Light level - needs to be a minimum of 1 lux along the centre of the escape route at all points. Emergency light fittings come with ICEL calculation tables which tell you how the light will spread from the fitting, and how close together they need to be to produce the desired output level.
Of course, light level applies only after you have confirmed that escape routes are properly defined.
Lights also need to be placed at each change of direction, or level, over and above the light level requirement.
Duration - the system is rated at the duration state don the light fitting. Therefore, each fitting (if self contained) needs to be duration tested for the time indicate don the fitting - typically three hours.
For central battery systems, the duration rating will be on a plate either by the batteries or on the control panel, and the same with inverter systems - which may be central, or may be installed per fitting.
Realistically, it seems to me that your first best bet is going to be to cut out lighting ways on each floor, one at a time, and see what stays on - and then get your head above the ceiling to find out what SHOULD be on - unless some kind soul left you a plan.
Without disrespect to any of the guys out there, the above are reasons why emergency lighting is not really run of the mill work - it follows similar levels of requirement to fire alarms. And that's without mentioning that compliant emergency lighting is generally NOT wired using twin and earth cable.
