Understanding Emergency Lights

Have you ever been in a place without any light? Worse than that, have you ever tried to find your way out of a place without any light? Or, to make it one step worse, how about trying to find your way out of that place without any light, in the midst of an emergency?

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The NEC (National Electric Code) and OSHA regulations require the installation of Emergency Lights in all public and commercial buildings, to provide light in the case of a power loss or emergency. Typical places that would require these lights include:

• Office buildings
• Theatres & churches
• Retail outlets
• Warehouses
• Government offices
• Industrial facilities

What are these Emergency Lights?

Emergency lights are permanently mounted, battery operated lights, which are tied into the building’s power grid. They draw power from the grid to maintain the battery fully charged. In the event of a power loss, the light automatically turns on, providing enough light for people to leave the facility.

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Regulations require that the entire egress route be lighted from all areas that can have people in them, all the way to a public way or safe assembly area. A public way would be a sidewalk, street or alley. In the absence of a nearby public way, the facility owner can designate an outside area that is far enough away from the facility to protect the people in the case of a fire, as a safe assembly area.

What Requirements Do These Lights Have to Fulfill?

There are a number of particular requirements that regulations stipulate for these emergency lights:

• They must turn on automatically at any power loss
• They must remain on for a minimum of 90 minutes
• They must provide enough light to light the entire egress route to a minimum o f1 ft-candle of illumination, measured 1 foot above the floor.

Planning an exit light system for a particular facility is best left to architects and electrical engineers, as the calculations for insuring enough light, throughout the egress route, can be complicated.

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What Do These Emergency Lights Consist Of?

A typical Emergency Light consists of a housing that contains the battery, a circuit board and a transformer. There are anywhere from one to three reflective lamp heads attached to this housing, with DC light bulbs in them. The power for the light bulbs comes from the battery, which is in turn recharged by the transformer and circuit board. In the case of power loss, the circuit board recognizes it, turning the unit on to provide lighting for emergency egress of the facility.

Fluorescent emergency lights have gained popularity in recent years. The light weight fixture uses a Nickel Cadmium emergency light battery instead of the typical sealed lead acid. This extends the average lifespan of the battery to 2-3 years.

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Wet Location emergency lights are weatherproof and designed for harsh, outdoor conditions. many models come with the option for a battery heater that allows the fixture to operate in freezing temperatures. We even have a model that can handle -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Explosionproof Emergency Lights exist for hazardous applications (wet environment), materials where flammable materials are used, and locations where the lights are likely to get damaged; along with attractive units for use in offices, hotels and retail outlets. All of these units function in essentially the same way, providing the same level of protection for people trapped within the darkened building