Emergency lighting is the system that gets people out of a building when the mains fail. We design, install, commission and test it to BS 5266-1, alongside electrical and fire alarm work so one engineer and one certificate cover the lot.
System choice
System type
Each luminaire carries its own battery and test circuitry. Cabling runs from local lighting circuits.
Best for: Offices, shops, HMOs, smaller commercial premises.
System type
One central battery or inverter feeds every luminaire over dedicated fire-rated cabling, with addressable monitoring per fitting.
Best for: Hotels, schools, hospitals, multi-floor offices.
Luminaire
On all the time. Used where a light fitting needs to stay lit during normal occupation - auditoriums, cinemas, shopping centres - and stay lit on battery when power is lost.
Luminaire
Off until mains power fails. Most standard escape route luminaires work this way: invisible during normal use, lit instantly on failure.
Coverage categories
BS 5266 splits emergency lighting into three distinct coverage types. A compliant design addresses each of them on its own terms, with lux level calculations recorded and kept with the as-fitted drawings.
Defined routes of travel from any point in the building to a final exit. Lux levels measured along the centreline.
Rooms larger than 60m2 or with uncertain escape direction. Designed to prevent panic and let occupants find a route.
Areas where a potentially dangerous process is underway - kitchens, workshops, plant rooms - needing higher illuminance to shut down safely.
Testing cadence
The regulation that matters most for the responsible person isn’t the install, it’s the testing regime afterwards. Here’s the rhythm we work to.
Monthly
A short-duration test of every luminaire, every month. Confirms each fitting illuminates on simulated mains failure.
Annually
A three-hour discharge of the full system to prove the batteries still hold rated duration. Logged in the site log book.
Ongoing
Test results, remedial actions and annual certificates kept together so inspectors and insurers see the audit trail at a glance.
Who needs it
If the building is non-domestic and occupied, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes the responsible person accountable for workable emergency lighting. In practice that covers:
We run emergency lighting servicing on the same visit as fire alarm servicing wherever possible, so certification for both lives on a shared schedule and the visit cost covers both systems.
Service area
Engineers based in Cwmbran and Cardiff, covering Cardiff, Newport, Cwmbran, Pontypool, Abergavenny, Monmouth, Caerphilly and the Valleys. Planned maintenance contracts run further afield where the portfolio justifies it.
Both are things we do every week. Tell us the site and we’ll fit you into the next available window.
