28 Jan Emergency Exit Light Testing – All You Need To Know!
Emergency exit lights may look to be a small indicator at the top of a door frame at the exits of movie theatres, shopping complexes or a parking lots. These signs that are lit up have a bigger meaning than just letting you know what door is safe to exit via in case of an emergency. Building evacuation is one of the most important and highly though of aspect when basic architecture is laid out for development, and through the designing of these escape routes, the additional aspect of informing the occupants of the building which way to follow in an emergency becomes an important component. The emergency exit lights illuminate the pathway to a safe location in case of a emergency or disaster. These lights provide a safe path in case of a black-out due to any reason.
The Complete Guide for Emergency Exit Light Testing
KNOW YOUR POWER SOURCE:
Emergency lighting systems are classified in accordance to the kind of power source they use, and where they derive the power in order to illuminate the path of the occupants and guide them to safety. In some cases the emergency lighting contains a battery built into the system, the emergency light is called a self-contained or single unit. These types of emergency lights need to be tested very regularly, because in most cases, the batteries don’t provide a warning before draining to an unusable level.
MONTHLY TESTING:
The overall system of the building should be tested every month following the standards as per BS EN 50172:2004 / BS 5266-8:2004. This is a short functional test and following the standard will give you some basic checks and a log books to assist you in maintaining the records for your convenience. The standard also provides the best practices to follow in case of repair and maintenance of your emergency lighting system. The duration of the test is enough for you to understand the condition and response of your system. It is important to check the whole system at one time only, however, the system can be divided into smaller sections and subsections so the testing can be done as a whole.
ANNUAL TESTING:
An annual testing should be done for around 3 hours with the emergency exit lights running. Make sure that the test is done when there is time for the lights to recharge before the building is filled with occupants again. This is due to the exit lights draining throughout the test, and will need time to recharge again. The test should be conducted by illuminating all emergency exit lights, and seeing if all the lamps are lit after a period of time, usually hours. It is also important to check is the illumination of the lamps, and the difference in brightness between first turning it on, and after an hour or two of running, and if they have dimmed or if the illumination is the same.
WHO SHOULD DO THE TESTING:
If you are a business owner or building owner it is recommended to hire the professionals that have the expertise in the field of occupant safety and evacuation. These people will be impartial to your sites and will be able to find out any flaws in the system without any bias. These experts provide solutions to the problems that a system may encounter in the future.
Occupant safety is the most important part of designing the building. The energy lighting system turns into a life saving device in case of any disaster, power outage or emergency. Therefore, it becomes a moral and social responsibility to get the emergency light testing done regularly, and by the standards.. We hope that aforementioned points help you to analyse and schedule your next emergency exit light testing for your building, because safety is our our top priority.