Emergency Lighting Installation

Emergency lighting is a legal requirement in almost every commercial building. When the mains supply fails, it has to light escape routes, exits and open areas for long enough for everyone to leave safely. LC Electrical Services designs and installs emergency lighting for offices, retail units, schools, hospitality venues and industrial sites across South Tyneside and the wider North East, working from our base at The Quadrus Centre on Boldon Business Park.

The duty comes from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires the responsible person for a building to make sure escape routes and exits can be used safely in an emergency. BS 5266-1 is the code of practice that sets out how emergency lighting should be designed, installed and maintained to meet that duty, and it is the standard fire risk assessors and insurers will expect your system to follow.

A compliant scheme covers more than the corridor outside the main door. It needs escape route lighting along every route to a final exit, open area lighting in larger rooms where people could become disorientated, high risk task area lighting where machinery or processes need to be made safe before leaving, and illuminated exit signs that can be seen from anywhere on the route. Points of emphasis such as changes of direction, stairs, fire alarm call points and firefighting equipment all need lighting nearby.

Most of the systems we install use self contained luminaires, where each fitting carries its own battery. They are straightforward to install and extend, and they suit the majority of offices, shops and schools. Larger or more complex sites sometimes benefit from a central battery system, and many clients now choose automatic self test fittings that carry out their own function and duration tests and report faults, which reduces the time spent on manual checks.

Every project starts with a free site survey. We walk the escape routes, review your fire risk assessment, note room sizes, ceiling heights and hazards, and look at how the building is actually used. From that we produce a design and an itemised, fixed price quotation, so you know exactly what will be installed and what it will cost before any work starts.

Installation is planned around your business. In offices and shops we often work early mornings, evenings or weekends, schools are usually done during holidays, and on industrial sites we work around production and planned shutdowns. Where existing emergency fittings are being replaced, we keep the building covered throughout so you are never left without escape lighting while work is under way.

Once installed, the system is commissioned with a full duration test, and we hand over a completion certificate, as fitted drawings showing every luminaire, and a log book ready for the monthly and annual tests BS 5266-1 requires. Our engineers are part of a NAPIT registered business, use UKAS calibrated test equipment and certify all work to BS 7671.

Emergency lighting rarely stands alone. It is often installed alongside a new fire alarm, an LED lighting upgrade or a wider fit out, and combining the work saves time and disruption. After handover we can look after ongoing testing through our emergency lighting testing service or a planned maintenance contract, so your log book stays complete and your system stays compliant.