Emergency lighting switches on when the power fails, lighting the path out of a building. Exit signs show people which way to go. Both are easy to forget because they sit quietly on the ceiling for years, and both are among the essential fire safety measures a building owner in NSW must keep in working order.
Why emergency lighting testing matters
If a battery has failed, the fitting will look perfectly normal until the day it is needed. The only way to know it works is to cut its supply and time how long it stays lit. AS/NZS 2293 requires emergency luminaires and exit signs to be inspected and discharge tested every 6 months, and each fitting must stay illuminated for a minimum of 90 minutes.
In NSW, emergency lighting is also an essential fire safety measure listed on a building’s fire safety schedule. Each year the owner must issue an Annual Fire Safety Statement confirming these measures have been assessed and are performing to standard. Missing test records or a pile of failed fittings can hold that statement up. Our guide to emergency lighting testing in NSW explains the requirements in more detail.
What we do
- Build or update a register of every emergency luminaire and exit sign on site, with locations
- Visually inspect each fitting for damage, missing diffusers, correct signage and legibility
- Isolate the emergency lighting circuits and run a full discharge test
- Record which fittings fail to reach the required duration
- Replace failed batteries, lamps or complete fittings, and upgrade older fittings to LED where it makes sense
- Retest repaired fittings and update the logbook
Discharge testing leaves the tested fittings with flat batteries for several hours while they recharge, so we plan testing for times when the building is lightly occupied, or test in sections so part of the system is always ready.
What you receive
You receive an up-to-date logbook entry for every test, a register of fittings with pass or fail results, a list of repairs completed and anything still outstanding. That record is what your fire safety practitioner needs when assessing the building for the Annual Fire Safety Statement, and it is what an insurer will ask to see after an incident.
Where a building has a large number of old fittings failing each round, we will give you the numbers to plan a staged replacement rather than paying for the same batteries over and over.
Where it fits with our other trades
Emergency lighting tests are a natural visit to combine with test and tag and switchboard thermal scans. For strata and multi-tenant buildings, we can also check common-area CCTV and intercom equipment on the same day. Under a maintenance contract, the six-monthly tests are scheduled automatically, so the due date never sneaks up on you.
Is your next test coming up, or has your current provider gone quiet? Call (02) 9832 9871 or request a quote and let us know roughly how many fittings are on site.
What's included
- Register of all emergency fittings and exit signs
- Visual inspection of each fitting
- Full discharge test, minimum 90 minutes
- Logbook updated every test
- Repair or replacement of failed fittings
- Retest after repairs
- Records ready for your AFSS