Emergency Lighting Testing and Certification

Emergency lighting in the marketplace

In addition to the certifications that address risks of fire and electric shock injury, emergency lighting needs to work as intended when a building must be evacuated due to fire, earthquake or other unexpected events. While non-emergency malfunctions may be acceptable for many types of luminaires, those outcomes are not acceptable for an emergency luminaire, an exit sign or supporting power and control systems.

Emergency lighting includes several types of equipment, such as:

• Luminaires with integral batteries or bypassable dimming controls that provide illumination when the normal power supply is disrupted
• Exit signs and pathway markings that provide directional guidance for leaving a building
• Emergency power sources, such as battery banks and uninterruptible power supplies, that support critical systems
• Controls, sensors and related auxiliary devices that manage and maintain system functionality

While LEDs are currently the dominant lighting technology, other forms of lighting are growing in popularity:

• Photoluminescent products are widespread within the exit sign and path marking subsector
• Lithium battery technology is gradually replacing lead-acid and transitional nickel-based chemistries
• Control systems are now mostly digitized and include various communication approaches — from 0 to 10 V and digital addressable lighting interface (DALI) to Power over Ethernet (PoE) — with wireless controls and test automation features being deployed more frequently 

Common North American standards and regulations

UL 924, the Standard for Emergency Lighting and Power Equipment, has extra investigatory steps beyond general lighting certifications that qualify equipment to the requirements of the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, NFPA 1 Fire Code, National Electrical Code® NFPA 70®, Article 700 Emergency Systems, and the International Fire and Building Codes. UL 924 also includes an evaluation of controls called the Emergency Lighting Control Functionality (ELCF) test.

Additionally, UL 924A, the Outline of Investigation (OOI) for Emergency Signs With Alternative Visual Designs, allows sign manufacturers a path to certification for certain emergency signs not in the scope or the prescriptive design constraints of UL 924.

North American standards and requirements include:

• UL 924, the Standard for Emergency Lighting and Power Equipment
• UL 924A, Outline of Investigation for Emergency Signs with Alternative Visual Designs
• UL 1994, the Standard for Luminous Egress Path Marking Systems
• CSA C22.2 No. 141, Emergency Lighting Equipment
• CAN/ULC-590: Design, Installation, Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Safety Way Guidance System
• CAN/ULC-S572: Photoluminescent and Self-Luminous Exit Signs and Path Marking Systems 

Standards and regulations outside of North America

The UL 924 approach to evaluating emergency lighting equipment has gained considerable traction across the Middle East, Asia and the Indian subcontinent due to its rigor, specificity, practicality and alignment with evolving technologies. The UL 924A OOI also provides a path to certification for variations according to local customs for emergency signs.

UL Solutions also supports manufacturers with global market access through the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and European norm (EN) emergency testing and certification, such as:

• IEC 60598-2-22 – Particular requirements for emergency luminaires
• IEC 61347-2-7 – Particular requirements for electric source for safety services (ESSS) supplied electronic control gear for emergency lighting (self-contained)
• IEC 62034 – Automatic test systems for battery-powered emergency escape lighting
• EN 50171 – Central safety power supply systems 

Explore our searchable Product iQ® database to learn more about different certified emergency lighting products and categories.