Maintenance of Office Emergency Lighting

Everyone knows that the law mandates emergency lighting equipment. However, too many times we overlook the importance of maintaining emergency lighting equipment that will lessen the possibility of panic or injury during a power outage or other emergency. Regular service and upgrading of emergency lighting equipment can radically reduce their labour, maintenance, installation, and utility costs, thus reducing their operating budgets while increasing the safety of your facility.

All lighting systems go through a decline in performance during operation and therefore need ongoing maintenance done either by suitably trained in-house staff or an outsourced lighting-management company. Lighting systems in a lot of buildings are looked after in a reactive rather than proactive manner. Planned lighting maintenance is the practice of organising labour and resources to ensure consistent recommended light levels and the most economical use of the lighting system.

Some facilities are required to keep a minimal level of emergency lighting along the entire means of egress whenever the building is occupied. The means of egress may be more than just the aisles and main corridors, and emergency lighting may have to extend from each exit to every location where people might normally be found. Any building is dark if there is a power failure.

Emergency lighting will also be necessary if there is a fire in the building, as this could cut the electrical supply. You may be able to use a few torches kept in convenient places for small buildings where few people work. Some torches have a charger, which plugs into a mains socket, and these torches usually come on automatically when the mains power fails.

Emergency lighting units are available in two kinds: “non-maintained” (which come on only in a power failure) or “maintained” (which can be on all the time). Non-maintained units are more common, but maintained lights should be installed for exits and exit signs. Emergency lighting almost always consists of unattractive boxes fixed to ceilings and walls.

The first question to ask is whether emergency lighting is really necessary at all. Photoluminescent technology is another option that can lead occupants to safety when the electricity goes out and a building must be evacuated. The purpose of this technology is not the illumination of a space, but rather to provide definition so people can orient themselves.

In addition to lighting, emergency power systems consist of generators and other apparatus to provide backup resources in a crisis when regular systems fail. Emergency power systems were used as early as World War II on naval ships. Unlike emergency lights, emergency lighting is not a type of light fixture, it is a pattern of the building’s normal lights that provides a path of lights to provide for safe exit in case of an emergency or light up service areas such as mechanical and electric rooms.

Lights should be installed along corridors, near fire exits and fire extinguishers or fire alarm call points. It might not be possible to install normal emergency lighting in some buildings because it might interfere with historic features. All emergency lights need to be checked periodically. All mains powered units need to be tested for a functional test for about 10 minutes every month.

Though power outages don’t happen that often, it’s very important that when they do occur, your building is duly equipped with emergency lighting that can illuminate a path of safety for the people inside. There are many different emergency lighting options for facilities; choices range from torches to simple wall-mounted units to complex systems integrated into your building’s primary lighting system.

You must show concern, whether you’re an employer or an employee, as to whether your workplace is adequately outfitted with emergency lighting and other equipment for fire and other disasters. Besides emergency lighting, your workplace should be stocked with emergency food, water and shelter supplies such as thermal blankets, rain ponchos, and tube tents.

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