Inspection & testing

Emergency lighting installation, testing and repairs

If the normal lighting fails, emergency lighting has to take over on its own, usually from a battery, and light the way out for long enough for everyone to leave. We carry out functional and full-duration tests, repair fittings that fail and install new emergency luminaires and exit signs, recording each result for your logbook.

Request a quote 020 3883 1321

You receive: A test record for your emergency lighting logbook
Annual test: Planned with you, because the batteries take hours to recharge afterwards
Starting point: Your fire risk assessment, which says where lighting is needed

Fittings are spaced so the floor of the route stays lit from end to end, and lit exit signs show the way wherever the exit itself cannot be seen.
Wherever the route turns or corridors meet, a fitting lights the corner and a sign points the new way.
A fitting close by means the call point can be found and used in a power cut. The same applies to firefighting equipment and first aid points.
A sign over the door, a fitting by the exit and another just outside it, so people can see their way clear of the building.
Turning the key cuts the supply to the emergency fittings only, so they switch to battery while the normal lights stay on. It needs a key so nobody turns it by accident.

Fig. 1 — A simplified escape-route plan with its emergency fittings, exit signs, call point and test key switch (Illustration)

Sound familiar?

When emergency lighting needs attention

Your fire risk assessment says which areas need emergency lighting. Within them, BS 5266-1, the code of practice for emergency lighting, recommends where the fittings go: along escape routes, on stairs, where a route turns, at exits and near safety equipment such as fire alarm call points. If you are the responsible person for a workplace, or for the shared areas of a block of flats or an HMO, keeping that lighting in working order is one of your fire safety duties.

If an emergency light smells of burning, looks scorched or misshapen, or has anything leaking from it, do not touch it or try to open it. Keep people clear of it and call us; if there is smoke or flame, raise the fire alarm and call 999. If escape route lighting has failed, tell whoever is responsible for fire safety in the building, because interim measures may be needed until it is repaired. Urgent electrical problems.

A fire risk assessment has recommended new emergency lighting, or changes to what you have
A fitting stays dark during the monthly test, or its indicator light is out or showing a fault
Fittings dim or go out before the end of the annual full-duration test
Partitions, exits or the use of the building have changed since the system was installed
There is no logbook, or no record of a full-duration test in the past year
An insurer, landlord, managing agent or fire safety officer has asked to see your test records
Self-test fittings are reporting faults that nobody has followed up
Exit signs are damaged, missing, hard to see or pointing the wrong way

Who this helps

Employers and business owners

As the responsible person for fire safety in a shop, office or workshop, you must make sure escape routes that need emergency lighting have it, and that it is maintained.
Managing agents and freeholders

Communal stairs, corridors and lobbies in blocks of flats: the way out for every resident, with test records that someone has to keep.
HMO landlords

Shared escape routes in houses in multiple occupation, where the fire risk assessment or the council’s licence conditions call for emergency lighting.
Facilities and building managers

An existing system with a logbook to keep up, failed fittings to clear and an annual test to fit around the way the building is used.
Tenants and owners changing a layout

New partitions, a moved exit or a change of use can leave fittings and signs where the escape route used to be.

Explained

How emergency lighting is tested and recorded

Emergency lighting is tested on a monthly and an annual cycle, as BS 5266-1 recommends, and every test goes in the logbook. Here is what each check involves, and what happens when a fitting fails.

Monthly functional test: Each fitting and sign is switched to battery by simulating a supply failure, usually with the test key switch, for long enough to see that it lights. The supply is restored and the charging indicators checked. Trained staff on site often do this.
Annual full-duration test: Each fitting runs on battery for its full rated duration, often three hours. This is the test that finds batteries which still light up but no longer last.
Recharge afterwards: A full-duration test leaves the batteries discharged, and fittings can take up to 24 hours to recharge fully. A power cut in that time could leave the route poorly lit, so the test is planned for a low-risk time, or done on alternate fittings where people sleep in the building.
Logbook entries: Every test is recorded with its date, the result, any fault and what was done about it. The logbook stays on the premises with the details of the system.
Faults and repairs: A failed fitting is written up, then repaired or replaced and tested again. Until it works, whoever is responsible for fire safety decides whether interim measures are needed.
Self-test fittings: Some fittings test themselves on a timer and show the result on an indicator light or a central panel. That saves walking the route with a key, but someone still has to read the results, log them and act on failures.

Step by step

How the work is done

Before we quote

For testing and repairs, tell us roughly how many emergency fittings and exit signs there are, whether each has its own battery or the system runs from a central battery (if you know), where the test key switches are and when the building is in use. The last test record or logbook shows what has failed before and when the last full-duration test was done.

For new fittings, or changes after a refit, send your fire risk assessment, a floor plan and any existing emergency lighting layout. We usually need to see the escape routes on site before we can quote. If the layout or use of the building has changed since the assessment was written, ask your fire risk assessor to review it first, because the assessment decides what the lighting has to cover.

Step 1:Agree what is covered

We look at your fire risk assessment, logbook and any floor plan, and agree with you which areas are included and when tests can run without leaving people at risk.
Step 2:Check each fitting

Each emergency fitting, exit sign and test key switch is found and checked for damage, for anything blocking or covering it and, where it has one, for a lit charging indicator.
Step 3:Functional test

The supply to the emergency fittings is interrupted, usually at the test key switch, and each fitting and sign is checked to confirm it lights from its battery. The supply is then restored.
Step 4:Full-duration test, when it is due

At a time agreed with you, the fittings run on battery for their full rated duration. Any that dim or go out early are noted, and the supply is restored so the batteries can recharge.
Step 5:Record the results

Each result, fault and action is written up on the test record, ready to file with your logbook.
Step 6:Repairs and new fittings

Replacement batteries, lamps or fittings, and any new fittings, signs or key switches, are quoted for first. Once you approve, the work is carried out, tested and recorded, with an electrical certificate where the work needs one.

Scope

What is included

Included

A check of each emergency fitting, exit sign and test key switch we can safely reach
A functional test of every fitting and sign included in the visit
The annual full-duration test, where it is due and the timing is agreed
A written test record, with each fault listed against its fitting
A written quote for any repairs, replacements or new fittings

Depends on what we find

Whether a failed fitting needs a new battery, a new lamp or a replacement fitting
Whether a fault is in the fitting itself or in the circuit that supplies it
What access equipment is needed for high ceilings, stairwells or fittings above stock or machinery
Whether older fittings can still take replacement parts
Whether changes to the layout mean the lighting needs reviewing by your fire risk assessor

Afterwards

Keep the test record with the logbook on the premises, where the fire and rescue authority or your insurer can ask to see it
Carry on the monthly functional tests and write each one in the logbook
Plan the next full-duration test for about a year’s time, at a low-risk time of day or week
Tell your fire risk assessor about any fittings added, moved or removed

Not covered by this service: Fire risk assessments, which should be carried out by a competent fire risk assessor; Fire alarm systems; Inspection and testing of the rest of the electrical installation, reported on an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).

The paperwork you may receive

Emergency lighting test record

Installation, testing and repair of emergency lighting.
- Which luminaires were tested and how
- Faults found and work done
- Dates for your fire safety logbook
Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate

Small additions and alterations that do not add a new circuit, such as an extra socket on an existing circuit.
- A description of the work
- Test results for the circuit that was altered
- The signature of the person responsible
Electrical Installation Certificate

New installations, rewires and new circuits.
- What was installed and the design details
- A schedule of test results for each circuit
- Signatures for design, installation and inspection

Simplified outline, not a real certificate (Illustration)

Standards and regulations

We are a NICEIC Approved Contractor, registration number 619998000, and fully insured. How to check our registration and insurance.

REFBS 5266-1, the code of practice for the emergency lighting of premises, which covers where fittings are needed and recommends the routine of monthly and annual tests
REFIn England, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person, where necessary to keep people safe, to make sure emergency routes and exits that need lighting have emergency lighting of adequate intensity, and that it is maintained in efficient working order and good repair
REFBS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, for the circuits that supply the fittings and the certificates for that work

Questions

Questions about emergency lighting

How often does emergency lighting need testing?

A short functional test every month and a test for the full rated duration once a year. That is the routine BS 5266-1 recommends, and each test goes in the logbook. If your fire risk assessment, lease or insurer asks for more, follow that as well.

Can our own staff do the monthly test?

Usually, yes. The test key switch puts the fittings on battery; someone walks the route to check that every fitting and sign is lit, turns the key back, checks the charging indicators have come back on and writes the result in the logbook. Whoever does it needs to know the system and where every fitting is. If there is no key switch, do not improvise by switching off circuits or opening fittings: ask us how your system should be tested.

Will the building be unprotected after the annual test?

For a while it is less well protected. Until the batteries have recharged, the fittings may not last their full duration if the mains supply fails. That is why the timing is agreed with you, for example at the start of a period when the building is empty. Where people sleep on the premises, alternate fittings are tested on separate occasions, so that half of them are always fully charged.

How long does the annual test take?

The test lasts as long as the fittings’ rated duration, which is often three hours and sometimes one, and each fitting is checked when it starts and again before the supply is restored. The whole visit depends on how many fittings there are and how spread out they are; we estimate it when we quote.

Do I need emergency lighting in a block of flats or an HMO?

It depends on the building. Communal stairs, corridors and lobbies come under the Fire Safety Order, and their fire risk assessment decides whether they need emergency lighting, usually on how long and complicated the escape route is and whether enough light reaches it from elsewhere. For an HMO, the council can also set requirements, for example in licence conditions. A single private house does not normally need it.

Some fittings failed the test. Do they all need replacing?

Not necessarily. A failed fitting may only need a new battery or lamp, while an older one may be better replaced if parts are hard to get. The test record lists each failure, your quote sets out what each one needs, and nothing is replaced until you approve it.

What is the difference between maintained and non-maintained fittings?

A non-maintained fitting stays off until the normal lighting supply fails, then lights from its battery. A maintained fitting is lit whenever the normal lighting is in use and stays lit from its battery if the supply fails; it is used, for example, where the normal lighting can be dimmed, as in cinemas and theatres. Which you need depends on the building, how it is used and your fire risk assessment.

Do self-testing emergency lights still need checking?

Yes. A self-test fitting can tell you whether it passed its own test, but not whether it has been knocked, covered up or left behind a new partition. Someone still has to read the indicators or panel regularly, write the results in the logbook, get failures put right and look at the fittings themselves.

Next step

Arrange testing, repairs or new fittings

Send the number of fittings, how high the highest ones are and when the building is quiet, with your last test record if you have one. From that we can plan the visit and send you a written quote, or tell you if we need to see the building first.

What to send us

The type of building, its postcode and how many floors it has
Roughly how many emergency fittings and exit signs there are, and whether any are high up
Your last test record or logbook, if you have one
Your fire risk assessment, if you need new fittings or changes
When the building is in use, and when testing would disrupt it least
Photos of failed fittings and their indicator lights, taken from the floor without opening anything

An enquiry is not a booking: we contact you first, and you see a written quote before anything goes ahead.

We list towns in London and surrounding areas, Kent, Essex, East Sussex and West Sussex. Check your postcode.

Call or email us for a free quote

Tell us the postcode and a little about the job. We will contact you to discuss it, and you get a written quote before any work starts. Quotes are free. Some survey or diagnostic visits may be charged: ask when you book.

Call 020 3883 1321 Email us

Our email address: support@dualcurrent.co.uk

Helpful to include

The postcode of the property
What the job is, or what is going wrong
Photos, if you have them, taken without removing any covers