Barry Williams outlines the duties and standards on emergency lighting that owners and managers of buildings should be complying with. The article previews part of the forthcoming free CPD Roadshow sponsored by ADI Global Distribution.

Emergency lighting is essential for the safety of building occupants where a sudden loss of light may put lives at risk.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 was introduced in 2006 and replaced all previous fire legislation in England and Wales. (Equivalent legislation applies in Scotland and Northern Ireland). For most commercial premises, the previous fire certificates issued by fire and rescue authorities have been replaced by a system of fire risk assessments. Accountability for the fire safety measures employed within commercial premises now lies firmly with the ‘responsible person’ - the employer or person who has control of the premises or part of it. Under the provisions of the Fire Safety Order It is now a ] requirement to provide, where necessary, correct signage and emergency lighting of emergency routes and exits from the building. Routine testing and maintenance of the emergency lighting system is also a requirement, and any failure to follow the correct procedures may hold serious implications for the responsible person.

To support this legislation in the UK, emergency lighting is now covered by BS 5266 Part 1: 2005 – the Code of Practice for Emergency Lighting – which provides general guidance on the provision and operation of emergency lighting. BS 5266: 2008 Part 10, meanwhile, offers guidance on risk assessments in all types of premises except individual dwelling houses. From these two ‘base documents’ other parts of the standard define the system and product requirements, which include the routine testing procedures, with which organisations shall comply.

Emergency lighting incorporating signage

In most premises, fire and rescue authorities are the enforcement body for such requirements and they are entitled to inspect premises and review the fire risk assessments and maintenance and testing records. If serious hazards or discrepancies with the standards are found, the authorities have a statutory duty to enforce the Order. This can involve taking enforcement action such as issuing enforcement notices and, if necessary, prohibition notices preventing further use of the premises. Fire and rescue authorities can also prosecute companies or individuals under the legislation if breaches result in the risk of death or serious injury in case of fire and, if convicted, they can receive fines and even imprisonment. If an accident results in the death of one or more persons, organisations can now be found guilty of corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

Where is emergency lighting needed?
The Fire Safety Order 2005 and the BS 5266 Standards ‘family’ state that emergency lighting is needed in the following circumstances:

• To adequately illuminate designated escape routes
• To provide sufficient illumination in other areas to allow safe movement towards and through escape routes
• To ensure that all fire alarm call points, fire fighting equipment and other safety equipment can be readily located and used
• To provide sufficient light to enable proper shut down procedures to be carried out in dangerous or high risk areas

Types of emergency lighting systems
There are three main kinds of emergency lighting systems; non-maintained, maintained and combined. In non-maintained the lamp only illuminates in the event of mains failure to the luminaire. Maintained systems allow the emergency lamp to be operated at any time from the local supply to provide normal lighting but in the event of a power failure to the luminaire, it will illuminate the lamp from its dedicated battery back up power source.

Combined types covers multi-lamp luminaires where the emergency lamp can be operated in a non maintained or a maintained mode.

The required operating duration for emergency lighting varies according to the use of the building and in the UK can vary from a minimum of one hour to three hours depending on the requirements of the building or the activities taking place within the premises.

Emergency lighting testing
BS5266: 2004 Part 8 requires that installed emergency lighting systems shall have continued maintenance and periodic testing carried out, as defined in the standard. In practice, the emergency luminaires must be and functionally tested every month and for their full rated duration annually. The purpose of this periodic testing is to ensure the satisfactory operation of each emergency luminaire, to establish that the light output from each luminaire is sufficient, and ultimately that the system is still fit for purpose and that it corresponds with the requirements of the standards.

Once mains power is restored to the luminaire, the engineer should check that the system changes back to its normal mode of operation and that, where fitted, the battery charge indicators are all operational and can be clearly seen.

For safety reasons, the standards advise that the emergency lighting testing should be carried out at times of least risk to the buildings occupants or if possible, when the premises are unoccupied or in unoccupied portions of those premises. In permanently occupied buildings it is recommended that phased testing is employed so that every other emergency luminaire is tested, leaving the building with a degree of coverage at all times.

Emergency lighting can be activated only when mains power fails, or can be part of general lighting as well

Innovation
There is increasing pressure on organisations in the electronic industry in particular to be more environmentally friendly through the responsible use and recycling or disposal of potentially hazardous materials. LEDs offer a sensible alternative to the more commonly used mercury based fluorescent lamps, which are now subject to WEEE and RoHS legislation. In addition to being aesthetically superior in some applications, LEDs are more sustainable, consume less energy and thus, produce fewer emissions. Although the initial outlay is higher, low maintenance requirements and the longer product life cycle associated with LEDs can reduce the through-life costs of a lighting scheme.

Furthermore, LEDs can benefit from advances in rechargeable battery technologies by generating less heat within the luminaire and placing less of a power demand on its power source. This is assisted by the pressure to move from Ni Cad cells, which include Cadmium that can be harmful to the environment, to other technologies such as Ni-MH. (Nickel-Metal Hydride) which is now a viable and less harmful alternative.

Conclusion
Ever tighter legislation and a greater emphasis on the importance of corporate, social and environmental responsibility within the business environment constitutes the need to upgrade to more easily managed and sustainable types of emergency lighting and the implications of not doing so could involve larger long term costs, at the very least.

Barry Williams is technical director of Orbik. This article previews a seminar session Changes in Emergency Lighting, to be given as part of the ADI CPD Roadshow during March. Click here for more information.