Locating Your Emergency Lighting

Posted on 18th November 2011th by Tariq El-Hoss in Emergency Lighting

2 min read

Designing An Emergency Lighting System: Part 2

Where Should You Locate Your Emergency Lights?

When planning an emergency lighting system it is important to consider the areas you will be highlighting with your emergency lights.

While emergency lighting is used to light a safe path to safety in an emergency it can also be used to highlight safety equipment and reveal any hazards. Identifying a number of key areas will give you a good foundation on which to develop your emergency lighting system and help you understand what you need to achieve.

Once you have an idea of where you need to locate your emergency lighting you can consider other factors such as which kinds of lighting to use.

We have compiled a list of some of the most common locations to situate your emergency lights. You can use this list to help you locate all of the locations you might need emergency lighting – why not take a floor walk of your building to make sure you don’t miss anything?

Exits: Place an emergency light next to each door that exits the building ensuring that the method of opening the door is highlighted.
Stairs: Position the light so that each step receives direct light, stairs can be treacherous in the dark.
Floor Level Changes: Emergency lights should be located wherever the floor level drops or rises, whether by step or slope.
First Aid Posts: Make sure first aid posts are well lit, accidents are more likely during an emergency.
Fire Equipment: Illuminate any fire extinguishers and manual call points so that they can be easily found if there’s a fire.
Outside Exits: Lights should be located within 2 metres of each external exit door, it’s no use being able to find your way to safety but not being able to see anything once you’re outside!
Corridors: Lights should be placed regularly along corridors and at each point the path changes direction or intersects with another corridor.
Exit Signs: Keep emergency exit direction signs well lit so that people can exit the building as quickly as possible.