Emergency Lighting Standards

[JohnP]

Hello,

Wonder if anyone can give some guidance regarding an issue I have with the standards and codes applicable to EM lighting since I am having trouble selecting suitable luminaires for a small HMO project.

I believe BS 5266 states in many places that EM lighting luminaires and various aspects thereof should conform to standard BS-EN-60598-2-22:2014.Even though it uses the word should and not shall, it also appears that a system cannot be declared to be  in conformance with BS 5266 unless the luminaires conform to 60598-2-22.

I see many luminaires advertised as for emergency lighting that do not explicitly state conformance to BS-EN-60598 even if the product is CE marked. I suspect the CE marking is only  linked to conformance to general EU directives like low voltage equipment directive. I do not have a copy of 60598, but I understand that though it mainly deals with product safety it also requires a 4 year battery design life (for self-contained luminaires). I suspect this is the main reason to not conform to the standard.

My situation is as per LACORS guidance case D11 (4 storey conversion) for which EM lighting might be required but our FRA has recommended. The problem here is that LACORS states that if EM lighting is deemed necessary it must be to BS 5266.

My questions:

1) Can luminaires be advertised as for emergency lighting use (in UK at least) if they do not conform to 60598-2-22 in respect of battery design life?

2) Or conversely, should I be suspicious of the battery performance of any self-contained EM luminaire that does not advertise conformance to this standard – on the assumption that the equipment safety aspects will necessarily be satisfied as they must fall under general EU electrical equipment directives.

3) Does this mean that any small establishment requiring EM lighting using luminaires that do not explicitly conform to 60598-2-22 is in breach of local authority regulations on EM lighting?  

4) Are there any other aspects of 60598-2-22 that could be an issue for compliance?

[Tom Sutton]

I do not have the current BS 5266 pt 1 I only have the 2011 version therefore I am not sure whether I should respond to this submission but I will, however you must consider my response with caution.

In my copy of BS 5266 it states batteries for self contained luminaires should have a declared life of 4 years and notes that the full specification can be found in 60598-2-22. So to conform to BS 5266  you need batteries having a declared life of 4 years. So when you purchase the luminaires check the battery to see if it conforms and/or contact the manufacturer to check which standards the luminaires conform to if it does not appear in the tech information. Consequently if at a later date, you are challenged you can prove you have done everything possible to conform to the standards.  

There are no local authority regulations regarding EM lighting, they use the same guidance you have access to, it is all about interpretation and enforcement officers may differ from your interpretation. 

There is about twelve references to BS EN 60598-2-22 in my edition of BS 5266 and you would need to have the BS EN to check them out, unfortunately I do not have access to a copy.