The Extra Feature Guide provides an understanding of:
What is Emergency Lighting? When power is cut or stops supplying the luminaire with power, the emergency backup will activate, giving enough light output to allow a safe evacuation of the premises, a minimum of 3 hours. The power can be provided via an emergency battery within the fitting or an external central battery or generator. *This is a British Standard. *
Emergency Lighting is a legal requirement, to ensure that the means of escape can be easily identified and safely used by and occupants, at any time, including during a fire evacuation or a power cut. The emergency lighting standard is BS5266-1.
Emergency Lighting has to meet high demands and, due to the requirements of commercial business, there are many variations of mounting options, luminance and life-cycle. As much as the main function of emergency lighting is safety and practical, we can still offer stylish designs for those areas where aesthetics is important or we can offer a wide range of integrated emergency products to help you meet your legal requirements in the best way for your business.
Type | Description |
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Maintained | These fittings operate as standard light fittings, switching on and off with other light fittings in the area. Then, if and when the power fails, the emergency fittings illuminate via their battery backup, whereas all the others will not function.
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Non-Maintained | This luminaire will remain in off mode and only illuminate once power has been cut.
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Self-test emergency lighting | The luminaires use the latest intelligent emergency modules, where the unit routinely tests itself, thereby removing the need for manual testing. It will also automatically flag up and identify the fault, so it is hugely cost-effective.
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Central battery systems | The luminaires do not have an integrated emergency battery. Instead, they use a common central battery system, which can be 50v/110v and 240v.
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Combined maintained emergency
| A utility light providing both general lighting levels and emergency lighting. In some fittings, one lamp may provide the general lighting, whilst a secondary lamp is then ignited when the emergency battery pack is activated.
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Luminaires will need to be provided at all ‘Points of Emphasis’ (as per BS5266-1 clause 5.2.8) which includes any changes in direction:
Control Rooms are areas that also feature emergency lighting.
These should have emergency lighting adjacent to the main switchgear or control equipment associated with the provision of normal or emergency lighting to the premises.
BS2566-1 states that a minimum of 1 lux at floor level is required for escape routes.
Thus, luminaires need to be equally spaced to make sure this is the case, in event of power failure, to ensure safe evacuation can be completed. Emergency Lighting should be tested monthly which is following BS EN 50172:2004/BS 5266-8:2004.
BS2566-1 states that a minimum of 1 lux at floor level is required for escape routes.
Thus, luminaires need to be equally spaced to make sure this is the case, in event of power failure, to ensure safe evacuation can be completed. Emergency Lighting should be tested monthly which is following BS EN 50172:2004/BS 5266-8:2004.
Minimum levels of illumination are recommended by clause 5.2.5 (BS5266-1) an overview of this is as follows:
3-hour duration is required in places of entertainment, buildings that have sleeping risk or if evacuation is not immediate/where early re-occupation maybe required. 1-hour duration may be acceptable on some bases if evacuation is immediate and reoccupation can be delayed until the battery has recharged.
To achieve a 3-hour duration- power can be provided via an emergency battery within the fitting or an external central battery/generator
These should have emergency lighting adjacent to the main switchgear or control equipment associated with the provision of normal or emergency lighting to the premises.
A dimmer is used to create the lighting ambience but allows you to set the lighting levels to your requirements. Lighting controls can make huge reductions in energy use, usually between 30% and 50% in a typical office environment. Dimmer works by cutting the voltage, thus reducing the power to the lighting.
Usually, it will say yes or no, and which system the product dims. Unlike incandescent, not all LED lamps are dimmable.
Installing lighting controls reduce lighting usage by 80%.
The BrightSparks can convert the following products to dimmable:
Type | Description |
|---|---|
Switched Mains | This is an on/off function and seen most commonly – the product does not dim.
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Switch Dim | Switch controls the dimming of the lighting. When the switch is pressed and held, the lighting will dim down – press and hold again and the lighting will dim back up (get brighter).
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Self-test emergency lighting | The luminaires use the latest intelligent emergency modules, where the unit routinely tests itself, thereby removing the need for manual testing. It will also automatically flag up and identify the fault, so it is hugely cost-effective.
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Leading Edge or Triac Dimmer | Both are common forms of dimming and are historically used with incandescent lamps or low voltage lamps, as they work well with transformers. These dimmers have a high maximum load, to manage the dimming of the 50w 12v lamp commonly used in substantial numbers. However, this makes it harder to use such systems with LED products, due to the low load required, but this can usually be overcome in the majority of cases.
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Trailing-Edge Dimming
| Trailing edge dimmers are historically used with mains voltage halogen lamps and tend to have a lower load requirement, thus making it easier to dim LED products. Trailing edge dimmers often have a smooth, silent dimming function and do not have the common issue of noise interference (buzzing), commonly associated with leading-edge dimming.
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1-10v Dimming
| With this system dimming tends to be smoother and can dim to lower levels, however, additional wiring is required, rather than simply being able to change the controlling switch.
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DALI Dimming (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface)
| DALI dimming is a commonly used digital dimming system. This method requires a DALI cable, running from a controller to each fitting, but also specific Dali compatible fittings to work. The system assigns an individual address to each fitting and will usually be integrated into a building’s management system. Specific DALI compatible products must be used for this system to function correctly.
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DSI Dimming (Digital Series Interface)
| DSI is another form of digital dimming, enabling the end-user to ‘group’ fittings together and also use special controls; e.g., Daylight Harvesting. Again, specific wiring is required and the dimming is controlled via the use of a lighting ballast.
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DMX(Digital Multiplex)
| DMX is commonly used for colour changing products. The DMX signal is produced via a lighting control system and requires dedicated cabling between the driver and controller.
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70% of the UK’s lighting consumption is used in commercial applications.
Studies of several rooms in different commercial environments installed with occupancy sensors show that on average, 41% of lighting costs could be saved.
PIR sensors detect body heat movements, they are ideal for smaller spaces where movement can be detected easily.
Microwave sensors only pick-up movement, but they can detect it through glass
Type | Description |
|---|---|
Common Areas | Businesses use motion detection light switches in common areas so no one will have to remember to turn the lights off. For example, employees meet in a conference room, and whoever happens to be the last person to leave won’t have to be in charge of turning off all the lights. The motion detection lights also enable a worker to go back into the room to fetch an item she has left behind without having to fumble for the light switch.
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Energy | Even if a company has installed low-energy lighting systems in its facilities, workers can still waste electricity if they leave lights on all the time when they are not needed. An employee can configure the motion detection light switches to automatically turn off lights after a certain period of no movement, which indicates that no one is in the room. Besides saving money on the company’s utility bill, the motion detection light switches help reduce the business’s impact on the environment. |
Safety | When an employee is working late at night when most other workers have already left the building, motion detection light switches can provide an added measure of safety. Instead of having to stumble through a dark room or hallway to search for the light switches, a worker simply starts walking to illuminate her path.
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Security | A darkened building or section of a building could be an attractive target to vandals or thieves, but motion detection light switches will detect their movement. Security guards will see a light suddenly turning on in an office window or hallways as they patrol or peer through security surveillance cameras, alerting them to the presence of possible unauthorised visitors.
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The use of an outward-looking sensor is usually made in applications where a lot of daylight is coming into the building and the control function is limited to switching only. It works on the principle that the amount of daylight penetrating the building will always be directly proportional to the current ambient light. The system then makes decisions about calculated levels of light in various parts of the building.
Downward facing, ceiling mounted light sensors are usually used in office spaces where the intention is to use dimming control to integrate the artificial and natural lighting. Since daylight increases the sensor automatically reduces the amount of artificial light.
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