Emergency Light Battery - Overview

Emergency lighting fixtures illuminate by relying on emergency battery backup power. Inside the fixture, there is an electrical circuit within the light, which senses when electrical power has been lost and turns on the light. Another internal circuit insures that the battery maintains full power. In a sense, this battery is the heart of the light, storing and providing power when it is needed.

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  6 Volt 4.5 Amp Replacement Emergency Light Battery
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  4.8 Volt 700mah Nickel Cadmium Emergency Light Battery Pack
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Battery Criterion

Not any battery will work for an emergency light. There are a number of design factors that need to be taken into consideration:

• Emergency light batteries must fully recharge within a 24 hour period.

• Emergency light batteries must be able to provide at least 90 minutes of emergency illumination power.

• Emergency light batteries must provide sufficient amperage capacity and voltage to properly illuminate the emergency lights.

• Emergency light batteries are designed to simply install and then remove for replacement.

View Our Full Line of Replacement Emergency Light Batteries.

Battery Maintenance

According to OSHA regulations, emergency lighting units and the batteries in them must be tested for functionality month and yearly. Records should be maintained of these tests. Emergency lights are built with an integral test button. When pressed, this button cuts electrical power to the light unit, allowing testing of the battery, circuitry and bulbs. Some newer units have an automatic test function, alleviating the manpower cost of testing these units.

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) requires that emergency light batteries power the lights for a minimum of 90 minutes. Batteries which can no longer maintain sufficient charge to last 90 minutes must be replaced.

Any rechargeable battery has a built in “memory” that is activated by the first charging. When first installed, insure that your emergency lights are connected for a minimum of 3-1/2 hours to insure full charge of the battery. Failure to do this may cause the battery to never be able to receive a full charge.

If your emergency lights contain NiCad batteries it is important to fully discharge them once every six months. Failure to do this will reduce the battery’s life expectancy. You can fully discharge them by turning off the circuit breaker that the lights are connected to for a minimum of two hours.

Learn More About Testing Emergency Light Battery Systems.

Battery Types

Batteries for emergency lights need to be rechargeable. Any non-rechargeable battery has a finite shelf life. As the battery started approaching the end of its shelf life, the available power in the battery weakens, reducing the illumination level and duration should the unit be called on to provide emergency lighting. Upon reaching the end of that time, the light would become totally inoperable and useless.

When replacing emergency light batteries, it is important to take into consideration the type of batteries currently in the light, along with their voltage and amperage. You must replace the battery with the same type and voltage as the original.

There are two basic types of batteries used in emergency lights:

• Sealed Lead-Acid – This is the same technology as is used in car batteries. These are the most common, as they have been in use for over 30 years in emergency lights. Sealed lead-acid batteries come with tabs that the wires in the light unit attach to.

• Nickel-Cadmium(Ni-Cad) – Newer units are replacing lead-acid batteries with Nickel-Cadmium. These batteries are lighter, smaller and are less dangerous. While the likelihood of a lead-acid battery exploding are minimal, nickel-cadmium batteries eliminate this possibility. They also have a longer life expectancy than lead-acid batteries, reducing your cost over the life of your facility. Nickel-cadmium batteries come with red & black lead wires to connect them to the control circuitry in the light. .

There are a large variety of emergency light batteries available on the market in both lead-acid and nickel-cadmium. Batteries for emergency lighting come in 4, 6, 12, and 24 volt versions. It is important to replace batteries with the same voltage as original for proper function. Too high a voltage will burn out the bulb; too low a voltage will cause the bulb to dimly illuminate.

Testing Batteries

You can test any battery with a simple volt meter or multi-meter. Set the multi-meter range to DC volts, at a range that is higher than the voltage of your battery (this usually means the 20 volt range). Disconnect at least one of the battery contacts and place the tips of the probes on the connections of the battery, positive to positive and negative to negative. Read the voltage on the meter. A fully charged new battery should provide slightly more voltage than its rated voltage. In other words, a 6 volt battery should read about 6.5 volts and a 12 volt battery should read about 13 volts. As long as it is above the rated voltage, it is a good battery.

We have a full staff of emergency light battery experts here to help you find the right product. For more information, a quote, or formal invoice, please email the battery staff today or give us a call on our toll free 800 number to speak with a product specialist.

By Jonathan Carter