Explosion Proof Emergency Light Overview

Applications like offices, theatres and stores hold very little risk of explosion or fire from a spark caused by equipment. However, other applications, like chemical plants, dry cleaning operations and paint operations in factories hold a very high risk of fire or explosion caused by any spark from electrical equipment. To deal with this risk, it is important to install explosion proof emergency lights in these applications.

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An Explosion Proof Emergency Light is called such, not so much because it is protected from being damaged by an explosion, but that it won’t provide a spark to cause an explosion. Any electrical lighting product, just like any other electrical device, can spark, especially if the equipment is old or poorly maintained. Explosion proof lights are designed to insure that any such spark will not have a chance to ignite a fire, even in the midst of flammable vapors.

Our most popular Class 1 Division 2 Emergency Lights comes in a number of models and features a variety of popular options. UL Listed for the USA.

The Risk

All around us are flammable materials. While some of these, like wood and fabrics, require quite a bit of heat to ignite a fire, others, like propane and gasoline vapors ignite very easily. These materials create a high risk factor for fire, causing areas to be designated as hazardous materials areas.

Various national and international organizations have surveyed this risk and developed regulations for the creation of electrical equipment in these areas. For the sake of electrical lighting, the governing document is the National Electrical Code (NEC). The NEC defines three categories of flammable materials as being “hazardous” requiring the installation of explosion proof emergency lights.

According to the NEC, the highest risk comes from flammable gasses and vapors. They categorize these as “Class1” the highest classification of risk, requiring equipment designed to the strictest requirements. Typically, when looking to install an Explosion Proof Emergency Light, it is necessary to search for them as “Class 1 Division 1” or “Class 1 Division 2” Emergency Lights.

Class 1 Div 1 Emergency Lights are explosion proof.

What’s Different About These Lights?

At first glance at an Explosion Proof Exit Light, one might think that they look like they are made in mil-spec cases. They “look” explosion proof, which is probably part of the reason why people refer to them that way. The robust cases are in fact designed with the idea of containing any explosion caused by flammable gases or vapors entering the case and exploding.

However, this isn’t the main difference between explosion proof lights and other emergency lights. The cases of these lights are made in such a way as to accommodate gaskets and seals at all the joints in the case, including the lamp heads themselves. That way, the flammable gases and vapors can’t enter the case and become ignited by a spark.

Other than these two differences, explosion proof emergency lights are made to meet all the other requirements of other emergency lights.

Where Should I Install Explosion Proof Emergency Lights?

According to the NEC, Explosion Poof lights, specifically Class 1 Division 1 emergency lights need to be installed wherever flammable gases or vapors occur as a normal part of your operation. Additionally, Class 1 Division 2 emergency lights need to be installed in any location where flammable gases or vapors can occur as an abnormal part of your operation.