Emergency light testing before the next power cut: are your escape routes really ready?

Most of the time, your emergency lighting is invisible background infrastructure. Fittings sit quietly over doors and along corridors. Nobody pays them much attention.

Until the lights go out.

The moment there is a real power failure or a real fire alarm, people move on instinct. They head for the nearest exit, often in partial darkness, often under pressure. At that point you cannot afford to discover that an emergency bulkhead never worked, or that an escape route is much darker than your drawings suggest.

This is what emergency light testing is really about. Not ticking a box, but ensuring that when people need to get out, they can.

What emergency light testing actually involves

In UK commercial buildings, emergency lighting should be tested in line with BS 5266 and your fire risk assessment. For most estates, that means:

• Monthly functional tests

  
  

  A short test to confirm that each emergency luminaire operates when mains power is interrupted.

• Annual full duration tests

  
  

  A simulated failure for the rated duration, often three hours. This proves that batteries can support the system for the required time.

In practice, that process should:

• Confirm that every fitting illuminates correctly.

• Highlight any failed lamps, damaged fittings or signage issues.

• Check that escape routes are adequately lit and clearly signed.

• Produce records that show the system is maintained in working order.

Done properly, it is not just a technician flicking a key switch. It is a controlled check of your ability to evacuate safely.

The FM’s real pain points

When we talk to facilities managers and estates teams about emergency light testing, the technical side is rarely the main frustration. Instead they say things like:

• “The last contractor left me with a spreadsheet and a headache.”

• “I only find out fittings are down when the fire officer points them out.”

• “We get lots of failed fittings but no clear remedial plan.”

• “Nobody in the boardroom understands why this matters until something goes wrong.”

Behind those comments are four common issues:

1. Fragmented responsibility

Emergency lighting might sit between electrical contractors, fire alarm providers and in house maintenance. That makes it easy for gaps to appear.

2. Poor records

If your test log is a half-completed paper book in a plant room, it is very hard to show a clear maintenance history during an audit.

3. Limited night time verification

Many checks are done in bright daytime conditions. The real experience of an evacuation in winter, in a corridor with no natural light, is very different.

4. No link to other compliance activities

Emergency lighting is often treated separately from fire risk assessments, fire door inspections and fixed wire testing.

What happens in a real power cut

Imagine a typical multi storey office or healthcare setting on a winter afternoon.

• It is already dim outside.

• A local network fault or internal issue takes out the mains supply.

• The fire alarm system activates and staff begin to move.

If your emergency lighting has not been properly tested and maintained, the issues that show up are rarely small:

• Escape routes that are patchy, with some sections bright and others in near darkness.

• Stair cores with one working luminaire on a landing and two failed.

• Final exits where signage is pointing the wrong way or is not illuminated at all.

• Open plan areas where people struggle to see changes in floor level or obstacles.

If there is an incident and investigations follow, one of the first questions will be simple.

“When were these emergency lights last tested, and what actions were taken on failures”.

Building a robust emergency light testing regime

A strong regime has four components.

1. Clear ownership

There should be no doubt about who is responsible for:

• Monthly functional testing.

• Annual duration testing.

• Recording and signing off results.

• Arranging remedial works.

For some clients, this is handled internally, with Protest ES Ltd providing periodic verification and repairs. For others, Protest ES Ltd carries out the full emergency light testing programme.

2. Simple, reliable records

You need more than “pass” or “fail”.

Good records will show:

• Date and time of tests.

• Which areas or circuits were tested.

• Any failures or observations.

• What remedial actions were taken, and when.

Digital test logs, combined with clear emergency lighting drawings, make audits much easier. They also help you spot repeated problems in specific areas.

3. Prompt remedial works

There is not much value in discovering a failed emergency fitting if nothing happens afterwards.

Protest ES Ltd typically links tests with a responsive remedial service. That might include:

• Replacing failed luminaires with compliant LED units.

• Correcting poor siting or spacing identified during tests.

• Upgrading old central battery systems to modern self contained options, where appropriate.

The aim is to keep the number of outstanding failures as close to zero as possible.

4. Integration with wider life safety strategy

Emergency lighting should be considered alongside:

• Fire alarm coverage and cause and effect.

• Fire doors and protected routes.

• Passive fire protection and compartmentation.

• Your evacuation strategy for disabled occupants and visitors.

This is especially important in complex sites like hospitals and care homes, where staff may rely heavily on visual cues during staged or horizontal evacuations.

How Protest ES Ltd helps FMs sleep at night

For busy facilities teams, the real benefit of a managed emergency lighting programme is peace of mind.

Typical support from Protest ES Ltd includes:

• Scheduled emergency light testing across single or multi-site estates.

• Clear, concise test reports with highlighted failures and recommendations.

• Planned and reactive repairs delivered by competent electricians.

• Integration with fixed wire testing, so electrical compliance and emergency lighting are aligned.

• Input into your fire risk assessment where emergency lighting is a significant finding.

The end goal is simple. When the lights go out, everyone finds their way out, and you have the records to show you took your responsibilities seriously