Emergency lighting is central to protecting the safety of building occupants from residents and staff to customers and visitors. When an emergency event leads to a power failure or blackout, emergency lights illuminate the fastest and safest route for occupants to exit the building.
As Brisbane’s original emergency lighting specialists, we work with clients who are often unsure about what is covered under Emergency Lighting Regulation and what their role is in keeping people within their buildings safe. Here is what you need to know.
Emergency Lighting
Emergency lights are a lighting fixture with an alternative power supply that turns on when a building experiences a power failure. They are found throughout commercial, office, retail, residential strata and public buildings.
When setting up emergency lighting systems, we think of the function in the following categories:
1. Emergency Escape Lighting
This part of emergency lighting is provided to enable safe exit in the event of power failure and blackout by illuminating escape routes, corridors and stairways. It also supports emergency response services by lighting key emergency equipment such as fire extinguishers.
2. Illuminated Emergency Exit Signs
These signs ensure that building exits are clearly visible and available to access whenever necessary. Unlike other types of emergency lighting, Emergency Exit lights are lit up at all times to ensure exits are kept clear and building occupants are aware of their nearest exits at all times.
3. High Risk Task Area Lighting
High risk task lighting is provided for potentially dangerous processes or situations. This type of lighting only applicable to limited scenarios such as industrial environments where heavy machinery, dangerous chemicals or sharp objects are used. This type of lighting ensures that in the case of a power outage, workspaces are well lit so processes can be safely stopped.
4. Standby Lighting
The part of emergency lighting provided to enable normal activities to continue in the event of failure of the main power supply. This is crucial especially in large public buildings such as shopping centres, hospitals, where a significant number of visits are not familiar with the layout of the building. Standby lighting helps guide visitors to exit routes and prevents panic in emergency situations.
The broad role of emergency lighting means that each building’s emergency lighting systems should be applied on a case-by-case basis. Having specialist experts look after your emergency lighting ensures you are both complying with regulations and also installing a system that provides the greatest safety for the people who occupy your building.
How do emergency lights work?
Emergency lighting is wired to a buildings electrical supply and will run off the main power supply under non-emergent times. They also have their own dedicated electrical circuit that kicks in when there is a redundancy in the power supply.
All emergency lights are fitted with their own battery that functions as a backup power supply when the building loses power from a power failure or blackout. The backup batteries provide at least 90 minutes of light, giving building occupants enough time to safely evacuate the building.
The batteries that support the evacuation lighting have a short lifespan, so when maintaining your emergency lighting system, it is important to have a licensed electrician conduct a 6 monthly performance test to ensure the batteries are working and the backup electrical circuit and supply are functioning as well. Because Emergency Lighting plays such a crucial role in emergency situations, these tests should only be conducted by qualified professionals.
What Emergency lighting regulations do I need to comply with?
Emergency lighting requirements across Australia are guided by two key standards.
- The Australian Standard AS2293 – Emergency escape lighting and exit signs for buildings.
- The Building Code of Australia (BCA) Section E4.2 Emergency lighting requirements
If you have any further questions about Emergency Lighting contact QEL, the original emergency lighting specialists for a complimentary consult.