Importance of Emergency Lighting
Emergency lighting: always there to save lives
When considering emergency lighting four elements should be taken into consideration:
- What is emergency lighting?
- What is the legal status of emergency lighting at European and national levels?
- The need for continuous assessment of the emergency lighting installation
- The need for maintenance of emergency lighting
What is emergency lighting?
- Lighting that operates when the supply to the normal lighting fails.
- In case of power outages, emergency lighting illuminates and guides you to safety.
- Emergency lighting is installed in many types of buildings where required. Requirements may vary by country and building type.
Mandatory
- Emergency lighting is a European legal requirement, it must be installed, it must work, and it needs to be tested and maintained.
- National laws may emphasise specific applications and/or performances.
- All emergency lighting products must be CE marked and comply with relevant product requirements.
EU Legislation
Workplace Directive (89/391/EEC)
Lighting levels:
- All emergency routes and exits must be indicated by signs.
- Emergency lighting must provide adequate intensity in case the lighting fails.
Signs Directive (92/58/EEC)
Lay-out for escape signage:
- Devices must be regularly cleaned, maintained, checked, repaired and replaced.
- Signs requiring some form of power must be provided with a guaranteed supply in the event of failure of the mains supply.
EU Standards for Emergency Lighting
Application Standards:
EN 1838 – in buildings.
EN 12193 – in sports facilities.
EN 16276 – in road tunnels.
CEN/TS 17951 - Adaptive Emergency Escape Lighting Systems.
Systems and maintenance standards:
EN 50171 – Central power supply systems.
EN 50172 – Emergency escape lighting systems.
EN 62034 – Automatic test of battery powered emergency lighting.
Continuous assessment
An emergency lighting installation needs continuous assessment throughout its life to ensure it remains fit for purpose. Changes to the building layout or use may mean that the emergency lighting is no longer correct or adequate, and needs reconfiguration or reconsideration.
Therefore, the emergency lighting should be regularly assessed to ensure it is correct and provides a safe environment in the event of an emergency. Failure to do this is one of the top five compliance issues with emergency lighting.
Maintenance
It is a legal requirement that your emergency lighting works correctly.
It is a legal requirement to have correctly working emergency lighting. It is not sufficient for emergency lighting to be installed and then ignored.
- Business owners and/or tenants are legally obliged to test their emergency lighting regularly to ensure their systems function as intended.
- Business owners and/or tenants will be liable in the event emergency lighting systems fail to operate.
- A short functional test ensures that the luminaire operates correctly.
- Requirements can be stricter in some European countries depending on local regulations.
