Emergency lighting testing requirements

What emergency lighting is for

Emergency lighting exists to let people leave a building safely when the normal supply fails — often at the same moment as the fire that caused the failure. It illuminates escape routes, stairs, changes of level, exit doors, final exits, fire alarm call points and firefighting equipment, and it must do so automatically, on its own battery, without anyone doing anything.

The governing standard

BS 5266-1 is the code of practice for emergency lighting in UK premises, supported by BS EN 50172 for the testing regime and BS EN 1838 for the light levels. The Fire Safety Order 2005 does not mention the standard by name, but it requires escape routes to be adequately illuminated and equipment to be maintained — and an enforcing officer will measure your compliance against BS 5266 in practice.

Monthly functional test

Simulate a mains failure using the test key switch or, in a self-test system, allow the automatic test to run. Every luminaire and exit sign must illuminate. The test is brief — long enough to confirm the lamp works, short enough to avoid flattening the battery. Walk the route, note anything that does not light, and record the result. Ten minutes a month is all it takes in most small premises.

Annual duration test

Once a year the system runs on battery for its full rated duration, normally three hours. At the end, every luminaire must still be providing adequate light — a fitting that dies at ninety minutes has failed, even though it worked at the start. Batteries then need up to 24 hours to recharge, which is why the test is scheduled at the close of business or split so part of the building always retains cover.

Light levels and coverage

BS EN 1838 sets a minimum of 1 lux along the centre line of a defined escape route and 0.5 lux in open areas over 60m². Higher levels apply in high-risk task areas. Coverage matters as much as brightness: fittings are needed at every exit door, at each staircase and change of level, at direction changes, at intersections, outside the final exit, and by alarm call points and extinguishers.

Who can carry out the tests

Monthly checks can be done by a suitably briefed member of staff. The annual duration test and the associated inspection should be carried out by a competent person, usually a fire safety or electrical contractor who will also check the emergency lighting design still matches how the building is used — new partitions and changed layouts often leave parts of a route unlit.

Record keeping

Your log book should record the system's commissioning certificate and design drawing, monthly test dates and results, annual duration test results, any failures and the date they were rectified, and details of any alterations. Missing records are the most common emergency lighting finding on a fire risk assessment — more common than actual equipment faults.

Common failures we find

• Batteries at end of life, typically after four to five years, dying well before three hours.
• Fittings switched off at an isolator during refurbishment and never restored.
• New internal walls creating unlit dead-ends.
• Exit signs pointing at doors that are now locked or blocked.
• External illumination missing at the final exit, leaving people stepping into darkness.

Practical advice

Diarise the monthly test on the same date each month and keep the key switch labelled. If your system is more than five years old, budget for battery replacement rather than waiting for the annual test to fail. And if you have added or moved walls, ask for a coverage review — testing an inadequate design only proves the inadequate design still works.