Emergency lighting keeps escape routes visible when the power fails. The annual inspection discharges every fitting for its full rated duration to prove the batteries hold, while monthly tests confirm each luminaire actually switches on.
Emergency escape lighting is a required fire safety measure in most blocks — and the item most often flagged in fire authority audits when monthly test logs are missing. The FRA relies on it working; the testing records prove it does.
The duty to maintain emergency lighting flows from the fire safety legislation for the building; BS 5266-1 and BS EN 50172 define the design and the monthly/annual testing regime that demonstrates compliance.
Regulatory frameworks differ across the UK — see the city pages below for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland specifics.
The annual test discharges every emergency fitting for its full rated duration — usually three hours — to prove the batteries will last a real evacuation. Fittings that fail are replaced.
Monthly function tests can be done by a trained responsible person on site; the annual inspection and certificate should come from a competent electrical contractor.
A log of every monthly and annual test per building, with failures and remedial actions — exactly the trail fire authorities ask for, and what Kaarr maintains automatically.
BS 5266-1 sets the testing regime: a brief monthly function test of every luminaire, and an annual full-duration (usually 3-hour) test with a certificate. Kaarr schedules both and chases the evidence.
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