Is your emergency lighting up to standard?

You must keep up with the: 

Here are some important things to consider. 

 

Illumination levels. Risk assessments remain the basis for the minimum illumination of escape routes and safety signs. However, you need at least 1lux lighting for escape routes up to 2metres wide and 0.5lux in open areas greater than 60metres. Safety lighting for local areas should continue for one hour and at least the same for escape route lighting. 

 

Emergency escape lighting testing. Recent changes to emergency escape lighting regulations include system testing. You must now carry out twice yearly testing, as well as monthly and annual tests. This will help ensure dirt, dust and degradation won’t affect emergency lighting. 

 

If you’re planning to install or upgrade your emergency lighting, automated self-test features will save time and money in the longer-term. Tests can take place automatically on selected dates to meet your compliance needs. Monitoring dashboards used alongside smart lighting systems allow you to review your emergency lighting in real time. You can receive immediate alerts for any failures in the system. 

 

Adaptive systems. Other revisions to regulations suggest Adaptive Emergency Escape Lighting Systems (AEELS) for all types of buildings. AEELS help guide people to safety if the normal power supply fails. Sensors and monitoring devices can detect environmental changes and use intelligent controllers to automatically change escape route directions. This approach is especially suitable for complex or high-occupancy buildings.