Emergency Lighting Requirements

What you need to know about emergency lighting

Why is emergency lighting necessary?

There are different types of emergency lights; some function as a normal light and others only as an emergency light. You should know what type of emergency light you need to install. For example; do you want a maintained emergency light (stays on constantly) or a non-maintained emergency light? For more information read our blog on maintained or non-maintained lighting.

As the responsible person it is your legal obligation to ensure that emergency lighting is installed. Covering all the escape routes and exits from every area of the building with a minimum backup duration of up to 3 hours.Emergency lighting is essential to light escapes routes for emergency evacuations when normal mains-power failure. Power outages are likely in a fire / flood due to electrical damage.

Emergency lighting lights the way to guide occupants to the nearest exit


Read more about emergency lighting legislation

Where to install emergency lights and signs

When installing emergency lights, take into account any hazards along the evacuation route, such as corners, stairways or uneven flooring. You must also ensure that fire alarm call points and equipment used for firefighting, such as extinguishers or fire blankets, are adequately illuminated to be easily seen or located. Some areas will require continued operation (e.g. a chemical processing room, operating theatre etc); higher continued lighting requirements must be considered in these areas.

Jalite photoluminescent fire exit signs
Jalite photoluminescent fire exit signs

A sub-category of emergency lighting is fire exit signs, which are green ‘running man’ signs with arrows that guide people towards the nearest exits. These are either internally lit or if sufficient other lighting is available, they can be photoluminescent. These ‘glow-in-the-dark’ signs store energy from either natural or artificial light and releases this stored energy when the light source is no longer there, emitting a yellow / green glow to illuminate the text on the sign.

You should refer to your fire risk assessment to ensure that you have covered all the essential fire escape routes and addressed any hazards on your site that were highlighted in this assessment. It is a legal requirement to carry out a fire risk assessment and you should refresh this assessment if the activities within your premises change or if significant changes to the layout are made. You can find authoritative guidance in the government's fire risk assessment guides.

Buy emergency lights

Visit our emergency lights and signs section to view our full range of emergency lighting products.

Testing and maintenance

As with all fire safety equipment, regular testing of your emergency lights must be carried out to ensure that it is working correctly. You should test that the lights are triggered when the mains supply is cut, and also that all the lights are illuminated as they should be. This can be done with the use of a fish key.

You will need to test your lighting once a month and ensure that a full discharge test is carried once a year. Log the results as any other fire safety equipment tests in your fire safety logbook.

If you would like to know more about emergency lighting our emergency lighting guides can provide you with useful information.

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Angie Dewick-Eisele

Director

Angie Dewick-Eisele is co-founder of Safelincs Ltd, one of the leading fire safety providers in the UK. Angie was Marketing Manager for many years and as Director is these days responsible for Content Management.

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Maintained or Non-Maintained Emergency Lighting?

The installation of maintained or non-maintained emergency lighting should be decided based upon building type, its occupants and its usage.

What is the difference between maintained and non-maintained emergency lights?

Maintained Lights

Maintained emergency lighting is on at all times. These lights are mains powered and used as part of the normal room lighting system. However, should the mains power fail, it will stay lit for a specific duration powered by a back-up battery.

Maintained lighting could include lit fire exit signs, bulkhead lighting or recessed downlights.

This type of emergency lighting is generally used in non-residential places of public assembly such as leisure centres, cinemas, shopping centres etc. In public venues where the normal lighting is often dimmed e.g. cinemas, theatres or bars, maintained luminaries are always required.

Non-maintained Lights

Non-maintained lighting only comes on for a specific duration when the power supply to normal artificial lighting fails. These light fittings are powered by a battery that is charged from a constant trickle of mains power. This battery should have enough charge to remain lit for a duration of 3 hours if the mains power fails. Regular testing of emergency lighting is required to ensure that it is working and will be effective in an emergency. Read more about testing and maintenance.

Non-maintained emergency lights are normally suitable for buildings which are usually lit when occupied, for example, workplaces, offices, and schools.

Illuminated fire exit sign next to a door

Can an emergency light fitting be both maintained AND non-maintained?

Yes. Maintained emergency light fittings or signs used as part of a normal room lighting system can also be wired to perform as a non-maintained fitting if required. This especially useful if your property has multiple uses, where you have a mix of maintained and non-maintained lighting requirements, only one type of light needs to be purchased. Many maintained fittings are available as switchable units, meaning they can be switched between maintained and non-maintained modes using an ordinary light switch. However, non-maintained light fittings cannot be wired for use in maintained operation.

If you are unsure which emergency lighting is best for your environment, it is best practice to conduct a fire risk assessment. This must be conducted by a ‘competent person’. A specialist risk assessor will advise the most suitable option in line with the current regulations if your organisation cannot complete this in house.

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Watch our video to learn the difference between maintained and non-maintained emergency lighting

Which type of emergency lighting do I need?

British Standards guidelines 5266-1:2011 requires emergency lighting to be installed in all high occupancy residential, public or commercial buildings. It outlines the duties of the ‘Responsible Person‘ and focuses on emergency lighting fixtures ensuring escape routes are illuminated when the mains power fails. There are often more specific requirements given by local authorities in each area; check your local government website for more information.


Whether maintained or non-maintained emergency lighting is needed is largely a question for fire risk assessors based on each individual property. If non-maintained lighting is deemed sufficient, it is also worth considering the reduced environmental impact and lower energy cost of using non-maintained lighting over time.

Help guides

More information about all aspects of emergency lighting can be found in our emergency lighting guides.

British Standards

There are various British Standards that set out the regulations for emergency lighting where further guidance can be sought:

  • BS5266-1 Code of practice for emergency lighting of premises sets out general guidance on what emergency lighting should be provided in each environment
  • BS EN 50172 / BS 5266-8 Emergency escape lighting systems details minimum emergency lighting provision and testing for each type of environment

Mel Saunders

Head of Marketing

With over 20 years of experience in content writing, design and marketing, Mel now heads up the Content & Marketing Team at Safelincs. Having been in the fire safety industry for over 5 years, Mel has now developed a deep understanding of some of the critical issues facing the industry. Alongside her team, she aims to support the public with resources and information to help them improve fire safety at home, in the workplace or in 3rd sector organisations.

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