Emergency Lighting for Offices

Emergency lighting lets staff and visitors leave an office safely if the normal lighting fails during an incident. This guide covers emergency lighting for offices, tested to BS 5266.

Where it's needed

• Escape routes — corridors, stairs, lift lobbies and final exits (escape route lighting).
• Open areas — large open-plan floors, meeting suites and reception (open area lighting).
• High-risk task areas — plant and comms rooms where a process must be made safe before leaving (high-risk task-area lighting).

Testing to BS 5266

• Monthly functional tests of every luminaire (monthly testing).
• Annual full-duration tests to confirm the rated period (annual duration testing).
• Logbook records kept for inspection (logbooks).

Fitting it around the working day

Because a full-duration test discharges the batteries, it is best scheduled out of hours or at the end of the day so the system recharges before the office is occupied again — the same out-of-hours planning used for office EICR testing.

Keeping it compliant

Emergency-lighting testing supports the premises fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and is best coordinated with the office's fire alarm testing and periodic inspection in a single compliance calendar.