Means of Egress

March 2010
By: Felipe Agustin
USGBC-LEED
TM
AP
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
1. Indicate the escape route clearly
2. Illuminate open areas used as escape route so that obstructions can be avoided.
3. Ensure fire alarm call points and fire equipment can be readily located.
4. Provide illumination for high risk areas to allow safety shutdown.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:
1. Provide lesser level of light than normal through the use of emergency and directional exit
lights to create calm in an emergency situation.
2. Highlight fire equipment to permit safety operations.
MANDATORY POINTS OF EMPHASIS
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
At each corridor Intersection Outside each final exit At each Exit Door
At fire alarm call points At each floor level change At fire fighting equipment
MANDATORY POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Exit and safety signs locations
On each Staircase
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
OTHER LOCATIONS
Escalators
Elevators
Plant Rooms
Covered carparks
High risk task area
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
Escape Route
MINIMUM ILLUMINATION LEVELS
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
NFPA 101 Section 7.9.2 states that emergency lighting facilities shall
be arranged to provide illumination that is not less than an average of 1
ft-candle (10.8 lux) and, at any point, not less than 0.1ft-candle
(1.1 lux), measured along the path of egress at floor level.
Illumination levels shall be permitted to decline to not less than an
average of 0.6 ft-candle (6.5 lux) and, at any point, not less than
0.06 ft-candle (0.65 lux) at the end of of the 1 hours. A
minimum-to-minimum illumination uniformity ratio of 40 to 1 shall not
be exceeded.
BS 5266: Part 1 calls for a minimum of 0.5 lux at floor level on the
centerline of permanently unobstructed escape routes. Points of
emphasis shall be illuminated to a minimum of 1.0 lux except for fire
alarm call points and fire fighting equipment where 5.0 lux is the
minimum requirement.
Fire Code of the Philippines Section 10.2.5.11 ( C ) does not mention
specific requirement.
EXIT MARKING
Exit Sign Self-luminous Exit Sign
Pictograms Exit Signage
EUROPEAN FORMAT
AMERICAN STANDARD FORMAT
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
MOUNTING HEIGHT
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
VIEWING DISTANCE
BS 5266: Part 7 Requirements
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
NFPA 101 Section 7.10.1.5.2:
States that new sign placement shall be such that no point in an exit access corridor is in excess of the
rated viewing distance or 100 ft (30 m), whichever is less, from the nearest sign.
DURATION OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING SYSTEM
REFERENCE STANDARDS PERIOD OF OPERATION
Fire Code of the Philippines of
2008 Section 10.2.5.11 9 (C)(2)
1 hours
Philippine Electrical Code (PEC)
Part 1 Article 7.0
1 hours
BS 5266: Part 1 1 hour
NFPA 101 Section 7.9.2.1 1 hours
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
CATEGORIES OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
SOURCES OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING SYSTEM
1. EMERGENCY GENERATOR. In the event of failure of the normal supply, emergency power
shall be available within 10 seconds.
2. UNIT EQUIPMENT AND BATTERY SYSTEMS. No interruption in power.
TYPES OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING SYSTEM
1. SELF-CONTAINED Each luminaire an internal battery which operate during normal power
failure. Wiring to a self-contained luminaire does not need to be fire-resistant.
2. SLAVE Luminaire is powered from a central system. The power source is remote from the
luminaire thus requiring wiring to be of fire-resistant cable.
3. CONVERSIONS By using conversion kit, any mains luminaire can be converted for
emergency use. Usual application is for luminaire having more than one lamp wherein just one
lamp is for emergency use.
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
TYPES OF CENTRAL POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
1. DC Central Power Supplies
This system directly uses a battery to supply power to emergency lighting loads. The battery can
be 2, 48/50 or 110 V.
2. INVERTERS AC SYSTEM
With the use of an inverter, the battery voltage is transformed from dc to ac (mains voltage).
Central Power Supply units provide power to a substantial number of emergency slave luminaires. A dedicated room
housing the battery and the control unit is normally required for central power supply unit.
TESTING OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING EQUIPMENT
EMERGENCY LIGHTING
Description NFPA 101
BS 5266 Part 1
Daily Daily visual inspection
Monthly Functional testing at 30-day intervals for not less
than 30 seconds.
Simulate a mains failure or a time sufficient only to
verify emergency operation.
Note: For safety reasons the simulated mains failure should
not discharge the battery by more than of its capacity.
Six Monthly Testing as monthly but for 1/3 of the rated duration.
Annually For battery powered emergency lighting system,
conduct annual functional testing for not less than 1
hours.
Testing as monthly but for the full duration.
For all tests Emergency lighting system shall be fully operational
for the duration of tests.
Emergency lighting system shall be fully operational for
the duration of tests.
Written records of visual inspections and test shall
be made available as required by local authority.
Written records of test date, results, repairs and
completion.
TESTING OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING EQUIPMENT
TYPICAL WIRING ARRANGEMENT OF NETWORKED TESTING PANELS CONNECTED TO CENTRAL BATTERY SYSTEMS
CENTRAL
BATTERY
SYSTEM
ADDRESSABLE TESTING
PANEL
EMERGENCY LIGHTING