When it comes to natural disasters such as earthquakes and fires, one of the most important ways to ensure our life and property safety is to correctly apply the right engineering technologies, such as emergency lighting, to the right areas.
The emergency lighting system is one of the most important components of these technologies. So, for what purpose is this system used, how does it work and what are its legal obligations in our country?
In this article, we will discuss these issues in outline.
We will frequently use official documents that legally guarantee the correct operation of the emergency lighting system, especially in cities with high disaster risk, in order to provide up-to-date information to our readers.
Emergency Lighting Regulation
The regulatory principles regarding the protection and operation of emergency lighting fixtures in disasters such as earthquakes and fires that occur in Turkey are basically based on Implementing Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings, EN50172 standard, EN54 standard and Electrical Facilities Project Regulation documents.
According to these documents, emergency lighting fixtures must not be damaged during events such as natural disasters and must be in constant operation. Therefore, it is very important that emergency lighting fixtures are installed solidly and correctly and that they are checked regularly.
According to the Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings, emergency lighting in escape corridors and staircases in first and second degree earthquake zones in Turkey must be implemented with self-operating battery-powered emergency lighting fixtures.
Central battery-powered emergency lighting cannot be used in earthquake risk areas. Because the possibility of the central battery becoming dysfunctional due to reasons such as cable breakage in the event of a collapse brings with it the risk of not being able to provide the energy required for emergency lighting.
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What is Emergency Lighting?
Emergency lighting means that in case the electricity grid networks in use in cities are interrupted due to emergencies such as natural disasters and catastrophes, emergency lighting kits and fixtures placed in buildings provide lighting with their own battery or by supplying power from a second energy source.
Why is Emergency Lighting Important?
The main topics that make emergency lighting important in natural disasters and disasters are as follows:
- Ensuring Safe Evacuation
- Reducing Panic and Confusion
- Reducing the Risk of Injury
- Identifying Fire and Other Possible Threats in Case of Earthquake
- Facilitating Search and Rescue Activities
Ensuring Safe Evacuation
Disasters often cause power outages and damage to lighting systems. Emergency lighting plays a critical role in ensuring safe evacuation in such situations. In the immediate aftermath of disasters and catastrophes, it is vital to provide good lighting to exit buildings safely and find emergency exit routes.
Reducing Panic and Confusion
In a poorly lit environment, people may panic and have difficulty finding emergency exits. A good emergency lighting system reduces panic and chaos, ensuring people can evacuate calmly and orderly.
Reducing the Risk of Injury
The risk of injury increases due to damaged building assets after disasters such as earthquakes. This risk is even higher if the areas are dark. Emergency lighting helps in these areas by reducing the risk of injury and speeding up the process of rescuing people in distress.
Identifying Fire and Other Possible Threats in Case of Earthquake
During earthquakes, gas leaks, fires or other hazardous situations may occur. A good emergency lighting system helps in rapid response by detecting such dangers more quickly.
Facilitating Search and Rescue Efforts
During search and rescue activities after disasters such as earthquakes, working in environments dominated by darkness and chaos makes the activities difficult. A good lighting system makes it easier for rescue teams to find and rescue those trapped under the rubble.
What are the types of buildings where emergency lighting is mandatory?
Questions about the location of emergency lighting are frequently asked in relation to this topic. The "Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings" includes a section titled "Emergency Lighting and Guidance," which specifies that emergency lighting is necessary in escape routes, assembly points, elevators, laboratories, electrical distribution rooms, generator rooms, central battery unit rooms, pump stations, indoor car parks, areas with first aid and safety equipment, fire warning buttons and fire cabinets. It is mandatory for these specified areas.
Other building types where emergency lighting system application is mandatory are as follows:
- Hospitals, nursing homes and educational buildings,
- All buildings with a user load of more than 200,
- Buildings with 50 or more users below ground level,
- Buildings without windows,
- Hotels, motels and dormitories,
- High danger places,
- Tall buildings.
How Does Emergency Lighting Work?
Emergency lighting, Non-Maintaned It works in two basic ways:
Non-Maintained Lighting
Non-Maintained Emergency Lighting does not illuminate when the city electricity grid is operating normally; it is activated only when the electrical energy from the grid is interrupted. It becomes active automatically in cases where normal lighting is interrupted due to a network interruption due to disasters such as earthquakes or fire. It provides the necessary electrical energy from the internal battery. Non-maintained emergency lighting is ideal for small structures such as workplaces and offices, which are typically only illuminated when visited and where visitors are familiar with the space.
Maintained Lighting
Maintained Emergency Lighting continues to provide illumination at all times, both when the city power grid is interrupted and when the grid voltage is in its normal course. It is generally preferred in public areas such as entertainment centers, cinemas and shopping malls. Permanent lighting fixtures are always necessary in public places where the normal lighting system is usually dim, for example in cinemas, theaters or cafes.
| Normal Network | Network Outage | |
| Non-Maintained | CLOSED | OPEN |
| Maintained | OPEN | OPEN |
How Many Minutes Should Emergency Lighting Be On?
Emergency lighting must continue for at least 1 hour (60 minutes) in the event of interruption of normal lighting. However, if the number of users is more than 200, the duration of emergency lighting must be at least 2 hours (120 minutes).
Moreover, it is advised that emergency lighting will be provided for 3 hours (180 minutes) in building types such as hospitals, where the evacuation process may take longer.
How Many LUX Should Emergency Lighting Be?
The answer to the question of how many lux should the emergency lighting be, varies depending on the location category. Minimum lux requirements vary according to three different zone types: escape routes, open areas and high-risk/dangerous areas.
Emergency Lighting on the Escape Route
Escape routes include exits from rooms and other independent spaces, corridors, floor exits, stairs reaching the ground floor, roads leading from the head of the stairs on the ground floor to the last exit of the building on the same floor, and final exits as specified in EMO's Technical Specification.
For escape routes up to 2 meters wide, the emergency lighting level at any point above floor level along the center line of the escape routes should be at least 1 lux.
Emergency Lighting in Open Areas
Emergency lighting intensity in open areas such as areas larger than 60m² and gathering areas should be at least 0.5 lux at floor level, excluding the 0.5-meter edge of the area.
Emergency Lighting in High Risk and Hazardous Areas
Energy distribution, production and industrial process rooms, boiler rooms, chemical baths, etc. In risky and dangerous areas and important places such as safe rooms, the emergency lighting level should be at least 15 lux and not less than 10% of the normal lighting level.
In addition to this information, if first aid materials and fire buttons are not on the escape route or in an open area, the illumination intensity should be at least 5 lux at floor level.
What are the Testing and Maintenance Processes of Emergency Lighting?
As emphasized in Article 84 of the relevant fire regulation, it is mandatory for emergency lighting systems to be periodically tested, controlled and maintained.
Testing and control processes, consisting of function testing and duration testing, are carried out manually or automatically.
In buildings where the number of people is more than 200 or the number of emergency lighting devices is more than 100, it is recommended to perform central monitoring to facilitate testing and maintenance work and to guarantee uninterrupted operation of the system.
What is Emergency Lighting Function Test?
Emergency lighting function testing is a test performed to verify whether emergency lighting systems are working properly. This test aims to check whether the lighting function of the systems is performed correctly by activating some or all of the emergency lighting kits. Functional testing should be performed once a month and the results reported to the logbook.
What is Emergency Lighting Duration Test?
Emergency lighting duration testing is a check to see if the system operates properly for the minimum required duration. This test is applied to check the health, operability and effectiveness of the backup power supply that will ensure the operation of emergency lighting for a certain period of time. The BS EN 50172 standard, which Turkey is also subject to, requires that the emergency lighting duration test be carried out for at least 1 hour (60 minutes). In addition, this period may be longer in some cases, depending on factors such as building type, size and purpose of use.
Manual Emergency Lighting Test
Manual emergency lighting testing is the act of checking the status of lighting kits at the beginning and end of the outage by cutting off electrical power to a part of the emergency lighting system. A technical personnel examines each fixture one by one and checks whether there is any damage or abnormal condition in the fixtures. Once the process is completed, the staff records all results and contacts the relevant unit to schedule maintenance for detected fixtures.
The process of manual testing of emergency lighting systems is intense and time-consuming. Moreover, manual control means being more vulnerable to human errors such as carelessness.
Automatic Emergency Lighting Test
Automatic emergency lighting testing automatically detects any malfunction or loss of performance in emergency lighting fixtures. It transfers the fault report to the central tracking system without any manual operation.
For example, Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) based emergency lighting fixtures connect to the DALI central unit and automatically transmit the fault report to the automation control system. In this regard, the application of the DALI communication protocol not only saves 90% of workload and time in the testing and control processes of emergency lighting systems, but also ensures the proper functioning of the system. You can also control emergency exit luminaires with DALI.
Moreover, DALI offers users the advantages of extending the battery life of the equipment and monitoring the charging processes in a healthy way.
The lifespan of emergency luminaires that are charged without interruption is reduced. DALI prolongs battery life by charging luminaire batteries at certain periods. Each battery has a standard upper limit for rechargeability. In other words, you can only charge a battery until it reaches the specified upper limit (for example, 100 charging cycles). DALI provides historical statistics on charging operations and reports these statistics to the user. In this way, the user gets accurate data about the rechargeability of the batteries.
As Elekon, we have been implementing DALI-based emergency lighting systems for a quarter of a century and integrating them with other building management systems.
Elekon is also an official partner of Mackwell, a leading technology company in emergency lighting systems worldwide. The Mackwell emergency lighting system combines Mackwell Origin technology with the N-light ATS remote monitoring system to regularly monitor the battery health status of equipment and automatically detect maintenance requirements.
Secure your businesses with the economical, practical and integrated emergency lighting solutions we implement with our expert staff. So that we can determine the right solution for your structure. Contact us >
Sample Success Story: Gelişim University: Emergency Lighting Integrated into the Fire System >
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