This guidance covers where emergency lighting is needed, the safety checks to make, and the monthly and annual tests with the records that go with them.

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Further Reading

Further guidance on emergency lighting and fire safety:

• Managing Emergency Lighting
• Fire Safety at Work
• Emergency Preparedness
• Managing Equipment and Premises knowledge base

How to Download

These files are included in the alphaZ subscription.

Need Help Implementing?

If you'd like hands-on help setting up your emergency lighting checks, testing schedule and records, our remote support services provide direct expert input from our team, by the day, by project, or on an ongoing basis.

Emergency Lighting Guidance

A general guidance document on emergency lighting for anyone responsible for premises safety checks. It explains what emergency lighting is, the different types, where it is installed, the safety checks to make, and how it is tested, maintained and recorded.

Topics Covered

• What emergency lighting is - back-up lighting that comes on when the mains fails, giving enough light for everyone to leave safely in a fire
• Types of emergency lighting - maintained, non-maintained and combined lighting, and lighting connected to an emergency power circuit
• Where it is installed - exits, escape routes, staircases and changes of direction, firefighting equipment, first aid kits, call points and refuge points
• Safety checks - a checklist confirming locations are documented, batteries are charging, test keys are in place and a valid certificate is held
• Monthly and annual testing - a short monthly functional test and an annual full-duration test that checks each battery lasts the required time
• Records and inspection - recording test results and defects, documenting all installed lighting, and keeping installation and inspection certificates

Who Is It For?

Anyone responsible for premises safety, fire safety checks or arranging maintenance, and the people who carry out the monthly emergency lighting tests.

Supplied with the Training Talk

This guidance is supplied with the TT-1-21 Emergency Lighting training talk, and both are included in the alphaZ subscription.

Using the Guidance

Give it to the people who carry out emergency lighting checks and tests, and keep it as a reference with the safety checklist and battery test log. Record who has received it, for example on the training matrix.

Monthly and Annual Tests Explained

A short functional test each month checks that every light comes on automatically when the power is lost, by switching off the relevant circuit or using a test key. Once a year a full-duration test checks that each battery can power its light for the required time, commonly three hours, as set by the fire risk assessment and the system design. Results go on the battery test log.

Adapting the Guidance

Edit the guidance to match your own arrangements - the forms you use to record checks and tests, your testing schedule, the duration set by your fire risk assessment and who carries out inspections.

Related Documents

Other documents that work alongside this guidance:

• F-HS41 Emergency Lighting Safety Checklist
• F-HS42 Emergency Lighting Battery Test Log
• F-Q107 Premises Safety Compliance Checklist
• F-Q26 Premises Monthly Checklist
• GG-7-09 Fire Safety