Owners or occupiers of commercial premises are required by law to test and maintain the emergency lighting system. It is important that emergency lighting is routinely checked to ensure that escape routes are clearly indicated, fire alarms and fire fighting equipment can be located easily and sufficient illumination is provided along an escape route.

Emergency lighting should be tested by a competent person, daily, monthly, six monthly, three years from the date of installation and subsequently, for self-contained units, annually, in accordance with British Standard 5266 Part 1: 1999. Any defects should be recorded and receive immediate attention where possible and as soon as practically possible in all other circumstances.

The person responsible for testing the system should be given authority to have any repairs conducted as necessary without delay. Before carrying out any tests, the competent person should identify the working duration of the emergency light units. This will usually be 1 hour or 3 hours.

BS5266 recommends a test procedure, the main points of which are;

DAILY - check indicator light and that all maintained luminaries are operating.

MONTHLY - an operational test for a short period (a maximum of one quarter or the rated duration).

SIX MONTHLY - test for at least one hour for 3 hour rated systems.

THREE YEARLY - test for full duration.

SUBSEQUENTLY - for self contained systems test yearly for the full duration.

During each test, the lights should be checked for correct operation. After testing, the supply should be restored and then checked to ensure the system is charging correctly.