Emergency Lighting Testing & Certification
Escape routes must stay lit when the power fails. We test emergency lighting to BS 5266, replace failed batteries and fittings, keep the logbook straight and issue the certificates the Responsible Person needs on file.
Where and why
Where emergency lighting is required
Emergency lighting exists for one scenario: the mains fails — perhaps because of the very fire people are escaping — and the route out must still be visible. BS 5266 is the standard that governs where fittings go, how bright they must be and how they are proven to work.
You will find the requirement on escape routes and stairways in buildings people share: the common stairs and corridors of blocks of flats, larger HMOs, offices, shops and other commercial premises, plus points such as exit doors, changes of direction, and fire-fighting equipment locations. Whether a specific building needs it — and where — is a conclusion of the fire risk assessment, which is why the two services are so often commissioned together.
Certification matters as much as the hardware. An untested emergency light is a battery quietly dying in a ceiling; the test regime and its paperwork are what turn fittings into evidence of compliance for insurers, licensing officers and fire authority inspectors.
Maintained vs non-maintained
Non-maintained fittings sit dark until the mains fails, then light from battery — the usual choice for residential stairs and corridors.
Maintained fittings are on whenever the building is occupied and continue on battery in a failure — specified where occupants don't know the layout, such as licensed and assembly premises.
Which mix your building needs is set by its use and its risk assessment; we confirm the specification before quoting replacements.
The regime
How BS 5266 testing works
Monthly function test
A brief simulated mains failure, long enough to confirm every fitting switches to battery and lights. Quick, but it has to happen and be logged — this is the check that catches failed lamps between annual visits.
Annual duration test
Every fitting runs on battery for its full rated duration — normally three hours. This is the test that exposes tired batteries which pass a one-minute flick test but would die twenty minutes into a real outage.
Repair and replace
Failed batteries, lamps and complete luminaires are replaced — on the same visit where possible — so the system never sits failed while a second appointment is arranged.
Certificate and logbook
Results go into the site logbook and onto the periodic certificate for the Responsible Person's records — the two documents an auditor or insurer asks for first.
Bundle the compliance visit. Emergency lighting is naturally tested alongside the fire alarm service, and for licensed shared houses our HMO service folds both into the licensing evidence pack — one visit, one renewal calendar, fewer access arrangements with tenants.
Common questions
Emergency lighting questions, answered
How much does emergency lighting testing cost?
It depends on the number of fittings and how the building is laid out — a stairwell with six luminaires is a quick visit, a commercial unit with dozens is not. Tell us the building type, a rough fitting count and the postcode, and we'll reply with a fixed quote, usually the same working day.
What is the annual 3-hour test?
Once a year, every fitting is run on battery power for its full rated duration — normally three hours — to prove the batteries genuinely last, not just that the lamp lights for a moment. Fittings that fade early fail the test and need new batteries or replacement. We schedule it for low-risk times, since the batteries need time to recharge afterwards.
What is the difference between maintained and non-maintained fittings?
A non-maintained fitting stays off in normal use and lights only when the mains fails — the common choice for stairwells and corridors in residential blocks. A maintained fitting is lit all the time and keeps going on battery in a power cut, used where people unfamiliar with the building gather, such as function rooms and licensed premises. Many exit signs are maintained for the same reason.
Does my HMO or block of flats need emergency lighting?
It depends on the escape routes and what the fire risk assessment concludes. Larger HMOs and buildings where stairs and corridors would be dark in a power cut generally need it, and licensing councils commonly condition it. Where borrowed light from street lamps or adjoining areas genuinely covers the route, the assessment may justify less — but that is the assessor's call to record, not a guess.
What records do we need to keep?
A logbook recording every test, fault and repair, plus the periodic certificates. Inspectors and insurers read the logbook first because it shows the system is looked after between visits, not just on the day of the annual test. We complete it at every visit and leave it audit-ready.