Emergency Light

The Australian and NZ Standard AS2293.2 requires that emergency evacuation lighting systems should be inspected and maintained in accordance with relevant procedures specified in the Standard. It sets out the periodic inspection and maintenance necessary to ensure the emergency lighting system will be in a state of readiness for operation at all times.

The majority of building and business owners accept the need for testing so what is the problem in making sure that testing is carried out properly?

Testing can be carried out manually or automatically.

Without doubt manual testing of emergency lights is time consuming and laborious. In larger buildings this often requires several qualified technicians or trained staff, and can seem never-ending. As well as being costly it is also very disruptive, particularly in buildings such as hospitals or schools.

Regardless of how systematic the testing may be, with manual emergency lighting testing, there is always the possibility of ‘human error’. Mistakes can and do happen.

The Advantages of Automatic Testing

There are a variety of automatic testing systems available. Systems, such as the Galaxy computerised system recommended by Green Technology Group, allow the programming of tests from a central maintenance PC displaying a visual representation of the emergency lighting system, allowing the scheduling of tests, recording the results, and providing reports to maintenance engineers as to which luminaires are faulty, the nature of the faults, and the locations of those luminaires.

With automatic emergency lighting testing the system can be tested at a safe time that does not put occupants in the building at risk should a mains failure occur following a test.

Fully automatic emergency lighting testing is not only more efficient and less disruptive, but can provide substantial ongoing savings compared to manual test or standalone automatic test regimes.

If you are undertaking a major renovation, or contemplating building new commercial premises, talk to Green Technology Group about how emergency lighting controls can allow automatic testing and reporting on the system.