Types of Emergency Lighting Systems Used in London

Emergency Lighting Can Be Classified in Different Ways

One reason emergency-lighting terminology can become confusing is that several different classifications are used at the same time. A fitting might, for example, form part of an escape-route system, operate in maintained mode and contain its own battery. Those descriptions refer to three different aspects of the same installation.

1. Emergency Escape Lighting

Emergency escape lighting provides illumination that helps people leave a building safely when the normal lighting supply fails. GOV.UK fire-safety guidance explains that the complexity of the system should reflect the size and type of the premises and the risk to its occupants.

Current BSI guidance divides emergency escape lighting into several specific applications.

Escape-route lighting

Escape-route lighting helps occupants identify and safely use the route leading towards an exit and a place of safety. Typical locations can include corridors, stairways, changes in level, exit doors and external sections of an escape route where emergency illumination is required.

Open-area or anti-panic lighting

Open-area lighting is intended for larger or less clearly defined spaces where occupants need enough visibility to orient themselves and reach an identifiable escape route. The term “anti-panic lighting” is commonly used because one of its functions is to reduce confusion and help people move safely towards an exit route.

High-risk task-area lighting

High-risk task-area lighting applies where loss of normal lighting could create an additional danger for someone carrying out a hazardous activity. Its purpose is to provide sufficient emergency illumination for people to reach safety or carry out an appropriate shutdown procedure.

These categories are functional. A single building can need more than one of them if different parts of the premises present different risks.

2. Local Area Lighting

Local area lighting is now explicitly recognised in the current emergency-lighting framework. It provides emergency illumination to areas where people are allowed to remain temporarily during a failure of the normal lighting supply, provided that continued occupancy and permitted activities have been appropriately assessed.

This is different from ordinary escape-route lighting because the immediate objective is not necessarily to evacuate everyone. The lighting supports people remaining safely in a defined area until normal conditions are restored or another action becomes necessary.

BS EN 1838:2024 introduced specific treatment of local area lighting, and BS 5266-1:2025 expanded its guidance to include local area lighting alongside emergency escape and standby lighting.

3. Standby Lighting

Standby lighting is provided where normal activities need to continue substantially unchanged after the normal lighting supply fails.

That makes it different from emergency escape lighting. Escape lighting is primarily concerned with safety and movement towards a place of safety, while standby lighting supports continued normal activity.

A premises may have both. For example, the emergency escape system can protect evacuation routes while a separate standby arrangement supports an area where continued operation is required.

The current BS 5266 emergency-lighting guidance recognises systems that assist occupants leaving a building as well as arrangements intended to protect people remaining in the building during an interruption to normal lighting.

Maintained and Non-Maintained Emergency Lighting

Maintained and non-maintained are operating modes rather than separate safety purposes.

A maintained emergency luminaire operates during normal conditions and continues or changes to its emergency output when the normal supply fails. A non-maintained emergency luminaire normally remains off while normal lighting is available and operates following failure of its normal supply.

Which operating mode is appropriate depends on the design and use of the premises. Exit signs, public areas and other locations can have different requirements depending on the building and emergency-lighting strategy.

The detailed operating distinction is covered separately in maintained versus non-maintained emergency lighting.

Self-Contained and Centrally Supplied Emergency Lighting

Emergency-lighting systems can also be distinguished by where their backup energy comes from.

Self-contained emergency luminaires

A self-contained emergency luminaire incorporates its own emergency power arrangement, normally including a battery and charging components within or associated directly with the fitting. This allows individual emergency fittings to operate when their normal supply fails.

Centrally supplied systems

In a centrally supplied arrangement, multiple emergency luminaires receive their emergency power from a central safety power source rather than each fitting relying solely on its own local battery.

BSI product certification under the emergency-luminaire standard recognises both self-contained and central-battery configurations. The choice between them is a design decision rather than a simple question of which technology is universally better.

Building scale, cable routes, maintenance arrangements, resilience requirements, system monitoring and the existing installation can all influence the most appropriate arrangement.

Emergency Lighting Types at a Glance

Which Emergency Lighting System Is Suitable for a London Building?

The correct system should be selected from the actual risks and use of the premises rather than from the building label alone. Two offices, shops or residential blocks can need different arrangements because their layouts, escape routes, occupancy and operational needs differ.

GOV.UK guidance states that the size and type of premises and the risk to occupants determine the complexity of the emergency escape lighting required. Small and straightforward premises may need a simpler arrangement, while larger or more complex buildings are more likely to require comprehensive automatic emergency escape lighting.

A system assessment should consider factors such as:

• the defined escape routes and final exits;
• stairs, corridor intersections and changes of level;
• large or open areas;
• fire alarm call points and firefighting equipment;
• areas where sudden darkness creates a specific hazard;
• whether occupants are expected to evacuate or may remain temporarily;
• whether normal activities need to continue during loss of power;
• the existing emergency-lighting power arrangement;
• maintenance, testing and access requirements.

Where an existing layout has changed through refurbishment, new partitions or a change in use, it can also be sensible to review the existing emergency lighting system against the updated building layout and intended use.

System Type Is Different From Emergency Duration

The type of emergency lighting does not, by itself, answer how long the system must continue operating after normal lighting fails. Duration is another design characteristic.

One-hour and three-hour arrangements can be appropriate in different circumstances depending on evacuation and reoccupation requirements. The separate guide to emergency-lighting duration during a power cut explains that decision in detail.

Every Type Still Needs Appropriate Testing and Maintenance

Correct system selection is only part of emergency-lighting safety. The installed system also needs to remain capable of operating when the normal lighting fails.

Testing should therefore confirm operation of the emergency fittings and, where applicable, their ability to sustain the required emergency duration. The testing schedule is a separate subject from system classification, so the detailed intervals are covered in how often emergency lights should be tested.