Matt Parton, Product Development Manager with ESP, provides wholesalers with an overview of emergency lighting, its importance, the different types and the legislation governing this crucial product category.

Emergency lighting is an essential component of any building’s safety system. It plays a crucial role in guiding occupants to safety during power outages, fires, or other emergency situations. Whether in commercial buildings, industrial facilities or residential properties, emergency lighting provides illumination that can prevent panic, reduce accidents and facilitate safe evacuation.

Emergency lighting systems

There are several types of emergency lighting systems designed to suit different building requirements:

• Emergency escape lighting – illuminates exit paths, doorways and staircases during power failures.
• Standby lighting – provides temporary lighting for normal activities to continue during power outages.
• Open area (anti-panic) lighting – reduces panic by ensuring general visibility in large spaces, enabling safe movement towards escape routes.
• High-risk task area lighting – ensures safety in areas with dangerous equipment or processes.

Regulations and requirements

In the UK, emergency lighting is regulated under several key laws and standards to ensure safety in the event of a power failure. The main regulations and standards that apply include:

Regulatory Framework

• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO)
  • Requires businesses and building owners to conduct fire risk assessments, which include emergency lighting provisions.
  • Ensures emergency lighting provides adequate illumination for safe evacuation.
• The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996
  • Requires emergency exit signs to be illuminated and visible at all times.
• The Building Regulations 2010 (Part B – Fire Safety)
  • Sets out requirements for emergency lighting in new and modified buildings.
  • Ensures routes and exits are sufficiently illuminated in case of failure.

British Standards for emergency lighting

• BS5266-1:2016 – Code of Practice for Emergency Lighting
  • Provides guidance on design, installation, and maintenance.
  • Covers minimum illuminance levels, locations, and durations.
• BS EN1838:2024 – Lighting Applications: Emergency Lighting
  • Specifies the performance requirements for emergency escape lighting and standby lighting.
• BS7671:2018 (IET Wiring Regulations – 18th Edition)
  • Covers electrical installation requirements, including emergency lighting circuits.

Maintenance and testing requirements

• BS5266-8 / BS EN50172:2004
  • Requires routine inspections and testing, including:
    • Monthly test – Functional test to check illumination.
    • Annual full-duration test – Ensuring the lights stay on for the required period (e.g., one or three hours).

Solutions

There is a wide range of emergency lighting products that wholesalers can stock to meet the needs of customers working across different industries and building types. The essential products comprise:

• Bulkheads – versatile, cost effective lights suitable for multiple applications, including exterior use, as most are IP65 rated.
• Downlights – discreet, low-profile fittings that can be recessed into ceilings, ideal for areas where aesthetics are important.
• Exit signs – illuminated signs that combine directional escape signage with LED lighting, designed to operate for at least three hours during power failures.
• Twin spotlights – powerful LED lamps suitable for illuminating large open or high areas such as warehouses, sports stadiums, and industrial units.
• Self-test emergency lights: Programmed to perform automatic checks on batteries and lamps, providing visual indications of any faults.

The future

The future of emergency lighting holds significant advancements and innovations that will enhance safety, efficiency and sustainability. LED technology will continue to drive improvements in energy efficiency. Future emergency lighting solutions will optimise energy consumption without compromising illumination quality, contributing to more sustainable and eco-friendly lighting systems. The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technology will enable real-time monitoring and diagnostics of emergency lighting systems. This will allow alerts to be received about potential issues before they become critical, ensuring that systems are always ready to perform when needed.

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Jake Green, Head of Technical Engagement with Scolmore Group, considers the necessity of maintaining signal integrity for life safety services such as fire alarm systems and emergency lighting systems.

In any electrical installation, it is necessary to give adequate support to cables. The reasons for this are twofold:

• Maintenance of the signal pathway
• Reduce the risk of premature collapse to protect firefighters accessing a premises during fire.

Three specific life safety standards to be considered are:

• BS5266-1: 2016 Emergency lighting – Part 1: Code of practice for the emergency lighting of premises;
• BS5839-1: 2017 Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings Part 1: Code of practice for design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of systems in non-domestic premises; and
• BS8519: 2020 Selection and installation of fire-resistant power and control cable systems for life safety, fire-fighting and other critical applications – Code of practice.

Other relevant references will be made to the requirements of BS7671: 2018 Amd 2: Requirements for Electrical Installations.

Emergency lighting

Emergency lighting systems require installed cables to be able to withstand the effects of fire as well as remain in-situ for a period necessary to ensure safe egress of persons. To address these issues, Clause 8 of BS5266-1 covers wiring systems and circuits in general.

For self-contained emergency luminaires, there is no recommendation for fire-protected cables (clause 8.1), and the general requirements of BS7671 will apply. These include the need to support the wiring system in such a way that it is not liable to premature collapse (521.10.202).

However, where the emergency lighting system consists of a central battery, it is of critical importance that the quality of the installation, the fire-integrity of the cables and their supports is maintained. The risk of a loss of signal, and hence illuminance, is increased where poor installation practices are carried out (Note 1 Clause 8.2.1).

Clause 8.22 of BS5266-1 details the nature of cable types recognised as being acceptable. This clause details minimum cable survival times ranging from 60 minutes to 120 minutes.

Without suitable survival times for the support of such cables, it will be impossible to ensure circuit integrity. The methods of cable support and fixings should be non-combustible and such that circuit integrity will not be reduced below that afforded by the cable used (Clause 8.2.3). This means, for example, that where a cable is rated as ‘enhanced emergency lighting cables with inherently high resistance to attach by fire’, the support means should also be capable of performing its function for 120 minutes.

Furthermore, where cable management system support is provided by drop rods, the drop rod size should be calculated in accordance with the recommendations of BS8519.

Fire detection and fire alarm systems

The commentary to clause 26 of BS5839-1 recognises that all interconnections must operate correctly at the time of a fire. Clause 26.2 recommends that cables forming part of the critical path conform to certain standards. These include mineral insulated copper sheathed cables, cables conforming to BS7629-1, and the like.

Like the recommendations of BS5266-1, clause 26.2f) of BS5839-1 recommends that methods of cable support should be non-combustible and such that circuit integrity is not reduced below that afforded by the cable used, and that they should be able to withstand a similar temperature to that of the cable being supported. This recommendation, in effect, precludes the use of plastic cable clips, ties and trunking as means of cable support.

Fire-resistant power and control cable systems

As with both emergency lighting systems and fire detection and fire alarm systems, BS8519: 2020 addresses the need to ensure cable support systems are adequate to meet the fire survival times of the cables they support.

The recommendations found in BS8519 are like those detailed in both BS5266-1 and BS5839-1. However, additional guidance is provided where a bracket and rod system is used to support safety critical cable systems. Clause 16 of BS8519 recognises that the strength of steel is adversely affected by fire such that great care should be taken in determining the cross-sectional area of the steel rod drops.

Conclusion 

It is essential that great care is taken when installing cables supplying life safety systems, such as fire detection and fire alarm systems, emergency lighting systems and fire-fighting lifts. The installer must use appropriate cables and support systems to ensure that critical systems continue to function during fire.

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