EMERGENCY LIGHTING GUIDE
Emergency lighting and guidance lighting is essential for the safety of occupants within a building where a sudden loss of light would prevent safe passage from the premises.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and British Standard 5266 Part 1:2025 – Emergency lighting of premises. Code of practice, provides general guidance on the provision and operation of emergency lighting.
The Responsible Person
Current legislation requires the premises “Responsible Person”, to consider all aspects of fire safety within their premises and included in this requirement is the provision of emergency lighting systems.
The “Responsible Person” has a legal duty to have a premises fire risk assessment (FRA) which identifies hazards and risks.
FRA guidance for all types of premises except individual dwelling houses state that emergency lighting is needed in the following circumstances:
■ To adequately illuminate designated escape routes
■ To provide sufficient illumination in other areas to allow safe movement towards and through escape routes
■ To ensure that all fire alarm call points, fire fighting equipment and other safety equipment can be readily located and used
■ To provide sufficient light to enable proper shut down procedures to be carried out in dangerous or high risk areas etc.
Does my premises need Emergency Lighting ?
The legal requirement is that most non-domestic and commercial premises must be safe at all times, even if mains power failure occurs. Therefore, most buildings must have emergency lighting fitted such as shops, factories, warehouses, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, care homes, offices, public areas of residential blocks, common areas in flats, HMOs, rail stations, airport terminals, car parks, leisure centres, gyms, theatres, pubs, clubs, places of worship, community halls, tents and marquees.
Emergency lighting is generally not required in private, single-occupancy houses.
How is Emergency Lighting used ?
Defined Escape Routes – Corridors, stairways, and final exits must be illuminated
Large Open Areas – Areas accessible by the public that are larger than 60m2 and open areas with an escape route running through them must have emergency lighting installed to ensure users safety, guiding them to the nearest exit.
High Risk Task Areas – High-risk task area lighting needs to operate in the event of an emergency to keep them illuminated
Standby lighting – Maintains business continuity (e.g., finishing a critical, dangerous, or high-value task). Standby lighting is not a legal requirement.
How long should emergency lighting last ?
1 hour minimum duration (autonomy) for emergency lighting:
■ Must fully recharge within 24 hours before reoccupation
■ Premises must be evacuated immediately
3 hour duration of emergency lighting for:
■ Sleeping risk (hotels)
■ Licenced premises and places of entertainment
■ Premises requiring early reoccupation (schools, hospitals)
Types of Emergency Lighting
Maintained: The emergency light operates as a normal light, but switches to a battery backup during a power failure.
Non-Maintained: The light is usually not illuminated and only turns on when the mains power fails.
Combined: multi-lamp luminaires where the emergency lamp can be operated in a non maintained or a maintained mode.
Emergency Light Examples
Illuminated Escape / Exit Signs
Bulkhead Lights
High output twin spotlights
Recessed Downlights
Emergency Light Levels
Escape sign illumination
Escape signs may be either externally or internally illuminated to ensure they are conspicuous and legible. Externally illuminated signs should be illuminated to no less than 5 lux
Defined Escape Routes
■ Routes occupants must follow to evacuate the premises
■ 1 lux minimum
■ At least 2 luminaires per compartment
Open Areas
■ Areas >60m2
■ 0.5 lux minimum (excluding 0.5m border at edge of area)
■ If the escape route runs through open area, escape route still 1 lux
High-risk Task Areas
■ Done on case-by-case basis as part of the site risk assessment
■ 10% of light required for the task
■ Never less than 15 lux
1 lux = one lumen per square metre.
British Standard BS 5266-1:2025 Emergency lighting of premises. Code of practice
BS 5266-1 is a British Standard that provides detailed guidance on the design, installation, and maintenance of emergency lighting systems. Adhering to this standard ensures that systems are not only compliant with legal regulations but also perform effectively during emergencies.
Key recommendations outlined in BS 5266-1 include:
■ Emergency lighting must be installed to illuminate escape routes, open areas, fire signage, fire alarms, and equipment storage points.
■ Systems should activate automatically within one second of mains power failure.
■ Emergency lighting should provide sufficient illumination for a minimum of one hour, with three hours recommended in many cases.
■ Regular testing and maintenance are required to ensure the system remains in proper working order.
Adherence to BS 5266-1 is essential for ensuring that emergency lighting is suitable for its intended purpose and contributes to overall fire safety compliance.
Emergency Lighting Testing
BS EN 50172:2004 / BS 5266-8:2004 requires that installed emergency lighting systems shall have continued maintenance and periodic testing carried out, as defined in the dual numbered standard. In practice, the emergency luminaires require a daily visual inspection (subject to the premises FRA requirements) and must be functionally tested every month and for their full rated duration annually.
The purpose of this periodic testing is to ensure the satisfactory operation of each emergency luminaire, to establish that the light output from each luminaire is sufficient, and ultimately that the system is still fit for purpose and that it corresponds with the requirements of the standards.
For safety reasons, the standards advise that the emergency lighting testing should be carried out at times of least risk to the building’s occupants or if possible, when the premises are unoccupied or in unoccupied portions of those premises
Common premises emergency lighting issues
■ Batteries not replaced, leading to reduced duration
■ Faulty LED charging indicators not spotted due to lack of regular inspection and testing
■ Escape routes changed without updating the lighting layout
■ Little or no lighting on external escape routes to assembly points
■ Cheap units installed that do not meet the required standards
■ Decorative refurbishments covering or obstructing emergency lights
These are all fixable quickly once identified by a competent engineer.
How we can help
RES can advise on all aspects of Emergency Lighting.
Our accreditation to the Third- Party Certificated BAFE SP203-4 Emergency Lighting Systems Scheme ensures that we are a trusted provider of:
■ Emergency Lighting Maintenance
■ Emergency Lighting Monthly inspections
■ Emergency Lighting Annual discharge testing
■ Emergency Lighting Fault Finding and repairs
■ Emergency Lighting Design and installation
Call us on 0800 731 0727 or use the Contact Form
Download the Emergency Lighting Guide
References
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made
Hochiki BS5266 Part 1:2025 Guide
A handy pocket-sized guide to the design, installation and wiring of emergency lighting systems based on key aspects of BS5266 Part 1:2025, please use the button below to download.
https://assets.hochikiglobal.com/assetbank-hochikieurope/assetfile/15881.pdf
Premises FRA Information
The responsible person must carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment of the premises. This will identify what you need to do to prevent fire and keep people safe.
https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/fire-risk-assessments
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