Emergency lighting testing: the monthly flick test and the annual three-hour drain

Emergency lighting is tested twice: a short test every month to see that each fitting comes on, and a full test once a year to see that each one stays on for as long as it is supposed to. Both are recorded. The monthly test you can do yourself; the annual one is usually better done by an engineer. Here is what each involves and why.

Where the rules come from

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires emergency routes and exits to be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity where they need illumination, and requires that equipment to be maintained in working order. BS 5266-1 is the code of practice for emergency lighting and BS EN 50172 (published in the UK as BS 5266-8) sets out the testing regime that BS 5266-1 refers to.

Why the test exists

An emergency light has a battery in it, and batteries die quietly. A fitting can sit on the ceiling looking fine for years with a battery that would run it for ten minutes rather than three hours, and the only way to find out is to cut the mains and watch. That is all the testing is: cutting the mains in a controlled way and watching what happens.

The monthly test

Once a month, the supply to each emergency fitting is interrupted for long enough to see that the lamp comes on from the battery, and then restored. On most installations there is a key switch (a "fishtail" switch) that cuts the permanent live to a circuit's emergency fittings; turning it, walking the circuit to see that every fitting is lit, and turning it back is the test. Any fitting that did not come on, or is dim, or has a damaged diffuser, goes on the record and gets fixed. The test should be short enough that the batteries are not run down, because a battery that has just been drained will not protect the building if the mains fails that afternoon.

Record: the date, which circuits were tested, which fittings failed, and what was done.

The annual test

Once a year, each fitting is run on its battery for its full rated duration, three hours for most premises, and must still be giving adequate light at the end. After the test the fittings need up to twenty-four hours on the mains to recharge, during which the building is not protected, so the test is done when the building is empty, or in daylight, or in parts so that one area's fittings are always ready. That is the main reason most clients ask an engineer to do it: it takes planning, three hours of walking the building, and a certificate at the end.

Record: the date, each fitting's result, the fittings that failed and the remedial work. After the annual test the engineer issues a periodic inspection and test certificate to the model in BS 5266-1.

Self-testing fittings

Newer fittings can run their own monthly and annual tests on a timer, stagger them so that not every fitting is drained at once, and show a fault with an indicator or report it to a central panel. They do not remove the need to look: somebody still has to walk round and read the indicators, and record it, but they turn the monthly test from an hour's job into ten minutes, which on a large or multi-site estate is a real saving.

Common failures

• Batteries past their life (typically four years for nickel-cadmium, longer for lithium) that no longer hold the duration.
• Fittings whose permanent live was lost when the lighting circuit was altered, so they have been charging from nothing.
• Exit signs pointing at a door that is now locked or a route that is now blocked.
• Areas that were added or changed after the installation and have no emergency lighting at all.
• Fittings painted over, covered by a new ceiling, or behind stock.

What an inspector looks for

The log book with the monthly and annual tests in it, the last annual certificate, the completion certificate for the installation, and the drawing. Then they look up: are the escape routes, the exits, the changes of direction, the stairs, the call points and the fire extinguishers each lit by a fitting?

What we do

We design and install emergency lighting, do the annual test and issue the certificate, and if you want the monthly test off your list we will do that too on a site we visit anyway. Details on our emergency lighting page.