Emergency Lighting
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:
While LEDs are currently the dominant lighting technology, other forms of lighting are growing in popularity:
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:
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:
Explore our searchable Product iQ® database to learn more about different certified emergency lighting products and categories.
Emergency Lighting
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