Every commercial premises in England and Wales must have a working emergency lighting system. That is not a recommendation or a best practice suggestion. It is a legal requirement. But many London business owners are unclear on exactly what the law demands, what the technical standard requires and what happens if their system fails an inspection or a test.
This guide covers the full picture: the legislation, the British Standard, the types of emergency lighting available, the testing schedule your premises must follow, and the consequences of getting it wrong.
The Legal Requirement: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The primary legislation governing fire safety in commercial premises in England and Wales is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, commonly referred to as the RRO or the Fire Safety Order. It came into force on 1 October 2006 and replaced more than 70 pieces of fire safety legislation.
Under Article 13 of the Order, the responsible person must confirm that the premises have adequate emergency routes and exits, and that those routes are visible and usable at all times, including when normal lighting fails. In practice this means that every escape route, every exit door, every stairwell, every open area through which people must pass to reach a place of safety, and every piece of fire safety equipment such as call points and extinguishers must be illuminated by an emergency lighting system that activates automatically when the mains power fails.
Who Is the Responsible Person?
The responsible person under the RRO is typically:
- The employer, where the premises are a workplace
- The owner of the building, where the premises are not a workplace
- The person who has control of the premises, such as a managing agent or facilities manager
In multi-occupancy buildings, more than one responsible person may exist and they share the duty jointly.
BS 5266: The Technical Standard
The RRO does not specify a technical standard for emergency lighting. In practice, BS 5266 is the accepted standard used by fire risk assessors, fire authorities, building control inspectors and insurers when assessing whether emergency lighting is adequate.
BS 5266-1:2016 sets out the requirements for emergency escape lighting: design, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance. Key technical requirements include:
Illuminance Levels
Along the centre line of escape routes, the minimum maintained illuminance must be 1 lux. Across the floor area of open escape routes, the minimum is 0.5 lux. In areas of high risk (such as workshops with dangerous machinery or spaces where fire safety equipment is located), the minimum is 10% of the normal working illuminance or 15 lux, whichever is the greater.
Duration
Emergency lighting must remain operational for at least one hour in standard commercial and industrial premises. Where the premises are used for entertainment, recreation, or as a hotel or place of assembly, the minimum duration is three hours. The three-hour requirement allows for a full evacuation and the safe conclusion of any event in progress.
Activation Time
Emergency luminaires must reach 50% of their required illuminance within 5 seconds of mains failure and achieve full required illuminance within 60 seconds. Self-contained LED emergency fittings with modern battery technology meet these requirements easily.
Types of Emergency Lighting
Non-Maintained Emergency Luminaires
Non-maintained luminaires are the most common type in UK commercial premises. They are switched off during normal operation and only activate when the mains supply fails. Because they draw no power during normal operation, they are energy efficient and their batteries maintain a longer service life.
Non-maintained fittings are appropriate for offices, warehouses, retail units and any space where the emergency fitting does not serve a regular lighting function.
Maintained Emergency Luminaires
Maintained luminaires operate continuously as a normal light source and switch to battery mode when the mains supply fails. They are required in areas of public assembly where the exit route must be lit continuously and where a sudden switch from normal to emergency lighting could cause panic.
Typical applications include theatres, cinemas, nightclubs, restaurants and places of worship. The fittings used in these environments are often the exit sign luminaires above doors, which must remain visible at all times.
Sustained Emergency Luminaires
Sustained luminaires contain two separate lamp circuits in a single housing: one for normal mains-powered operation and one for emergency battery operation. They provide maintained operation without needing a separate dedicated emergency fitting above each exit sign.
Central Battery Systems
Larger buildings often use a central battery system in which a single battery installation in a plant room supplies power to all emergency luminaires via a dedicated wiring circuit. Central battery systems are easier to manage and test than individual self-contained fittings, and the battery bank typically has a longer service life. They are the preferred solution for office blocks, shopping centres, hospitals and educational buildings.
Testing Requirements Under BS 5266
Having an emergency lighting system installed is not sufficient on its own. BS 5266 requires a regular testing and maintenance regime, and the results of all tests must be recorded in a log book held on the premises.
Monthly Function Test
Every calendar month, a function test must be carried out on each emergency luminaire. The test involves simulating a mains failure (by turning the test key on the fitting or isolating the mains supply to the circuit) for a period long enough to confirm that the lamp illuminates. The test duration should not be long enough to significantly discharge the battery.
The result of each monthly test, the date, the person carrying out the test and any fittings that failed to operate must be recorded in the log book. Premises that cannot demonstrate a current log book with monthly test records are likely to be found non-compliant during a fire risk assessment.
Annual Full-Duration Test
Once per year, every emergency luminaire must be subjected to a full-duration discharge test: the mains supply is isolated and the fittings are allowed to run on battery power for their full rated duration: one hour for standard premises, three hours for entertainment and hospitality venues.
After the test, any fitting that failed to maintain illuminance for the full duration must be replaced. The annual test result, including the date, the name and qualification of the person carrying out the test, and a list of any fittings replaced, must be recorded in the log book. A completion certificate should be issued by the testing engineer.
Who Should Carry Out the Annual Test?
Monthly function tests can be carried out by a responsible and competent person on site, such as a facilities manager or building supervisor. The annual full-duration test should be carried out by a qualified electrician who can confirm the test is conducted safely, interpret the results correctly and issue a signed completion certificate.
Our engineers carry out annual emergency lighting testing for commercial premises across London and issue a signed test certificate with every inspection.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
A fire risk assessment (which is itself a legal requirement for all non-domestic premises under the RRO) will identify any deficiencies in the emergency lighting system. Assessors are required to report non-compliance to the relevant fire and rescue authority where they judge that life safety is at risk.
Enforcement Notices
The fire authority can issue an enforcement notice requiring the responsible person to carry out specific remedial works within a set timeframe. This is the most common outcome for premises with minor deficiencies such as a few failed fittings or an incomplete test log.
Prohibition Notices
Where the fire authority judges that a premises presents a serious and imminent risk to life, they can issue a prohibition notice that immediately restricts or prohibits the use of the premises. A building operating with no functioning emergency lighting on key escape routes is at serious risk of receiving a prohibition notice.
Prosecution
Persistent failure to comply with enforcement notices, or serious and deliberate failures to maintain fire safety systems, can result in prosecution under the RRO. Conviction can lead to an unlimited fine and up to two years in prison for responsible persons.
What to Do If Your Emergency Lighting Is Non-Compliant
If your premises currently has a non-compliant emergency lighting system or no system at all, the process to rectify this is straightforward. Our engineers carry out a full audit of your current installation, identify the gaps against BS 5266, produce a specification for the remedial or new works, and carry out the installation with minimal disruption to your operation.
On completion you receive a signed Electrical Installation Certificate, a completed BS 5266 log book, a test certificate and a commissioning record. Our emergency lighting installation service covers the whole of Greater London with no call-out charge for surveys.
Call us on 0800 000 0000 or complete the contact form to arrange a free premises survey. We will confirm the extent of any non-compliance and the cost of bringing your building to a fully compliant standard within 48 hours of our visit.