Emergency Lighting:
Navigating Upcoming Changes To BS Standards
With emergency lighting sat firmly at the heart of a building’s health and safety requirements, understanding, and complying with changing regulations is a key factor in the role of many facilities managers.
Crucial for ensuring the safety of building occupants, emergency lighting plays a critical role in facilitating smooth evacuation during unexpected or hazardous situations. It can also help to prevent panic, enhance security, aid emergency services and in the event of a power failure, it can provide illumination to ensure a proper shutdown procedure is carried out, and to permit operations concerned with safety measures.
Stipulated under Approved Document B of Building Regulations for use in England and in the same for Wales, as well as within the Building Standards for use in Scotland, emergency lighting is a legal requirement in all public, commercial, and high occupancy residential buildings.
There are also several British Standards that apply to emergency lighting advising on all areas of best practice. Standards BS EN 1838:2013 and BS EN 50172:2004 are currently going through the process of being re-written and will mean that changes to existing installations and their maintenance practises are required in buildings across the country. Publication of the new codes are set for later this year.
BS EN 1838:2013 stipulates the illumination to be provided by emergency lighting (including illuminance, duration & colour). The standard covers both temporary and permanently installed electrically powered emergency lighting and applies to self-contained luminaires with integral batteries, centrally powered luminaires, and to centrally generator powered luminaires.
One of the main updates to EN1838 concerns local area safety lighting which protect occupants who are allowed to remain in a building in the event of a supply failure (based on a safety risk assessment).
The standard stipulates that the maintained illuminance of local area safety lighting shall be based on risk assessment but shall be at least 1Lux on escape routes up to 2m in width and 0.5Lux in open areas with a floor area greater than 60m (excluding a border of 0.5m around the perimeter).
The British Standard, EN1838 also stipulates that the minimum duration the local area safety lighting should last is 1 hour and that escape route lighting from the area of safety to the final exit shall have a duration equal to or greater than the local area safety lighting.
The revised prEN1838 states that Adaptive Emergency Escape Lighting Systems (AEELS) can now be used in all types of buildings. AEELS are advanced lighting systems designed to enhance the safety and effectiveness of emergency evacuations. Highly intuitive, these systems are designed to adapt to changing conditions and provide clear and efficient illumination to guide building occupants to safety. Using sensors and monitoring devices they can detect changes in the environment, harnessing intelligent control technology to automatically change factors such as escape route direction, the visibility of the emergency signage and lighting levels on escape routes.
BS EN 50172:2004 specifies the minimum provision of illumination of escape routes and safety signs, as well as the testing requirements of emergency lighting systems for different premises.
For EN 50172, the main changes coming into force relate to inspection and testing of the luminaires and systems. In addition to current daily, monthly, and annual verification tests, a bi-annual test of emergency luminaires and externally illuminated escape route safety signs should be implemented to verify that they are undamaged and that their intended function is not impaired due to the presence of dirt, dust or visible material degradation.
In conclusion, as we approach the impending changes to British Standards governing emergency lighting, it is evident that the role of emergency lighting in safeguarding life and ensuring the smooth evacuation of buildings cannot be overstated. Staying informed and prepared for these changes is vital and a fundamental step toward ensuring the safety and well-being of building occupants in times of emergency. In this ever-evolving landscape, the importance of emergency lighting remains unwavering, providing a beacon of safety in the darkest of hours.
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