Emergency Exit Lighting Installation
Kochs Electric installs compliant, fully tested emergency exit lighting systems and equipment for commercial and residential properties across the region. Our reliable exit lighting services cover installation, maintenance, and inspections – ensuring every light is safe, properly installed, and built to last.
5 Highlights on Emergency Exit Lighting Installation
- Full BS5266 and BS7671 compliance — Every emergency exit lighting installation Kochs Electric completes is designed to meet current IET Wiring Regulations, life safety code requirements, and fire safety standards, ensuring signed certification and a completed logbook handed to the client on the day.
- Self-contained and central-battery systems — We install both self-contained maintained luminaires and central-battery hardwired systems with reliable battery backup, selecting the right configuration based on your escape route layout, occupancy load, and building compartment design.
- Lux level and duration testing — Every fitting is discharge-tested to confirm the rated illumination level at floor level across corridors, stairwells, and assembly points, ensuring proper functioning with full lumen and candela output verified against the installation schedule.
- Surface-mounted and recessed options — We mount quality LED and fluorescent emergency lights flush or surface-mounted, weatherproof or flameproof rated, depending on the enclosure type and the environment.
- Pictographic exit signs and directional arrows — We supply and install photoluminescent and illuminated exit signs, directional pictograms, and legend plates positioned for maximum visual clarity and visibility along every designated emergency route.
Why Choose Our Emergency Exit Lighting Installation
Kochs Electric has built a trusted reputation for professional exit lighting services across commercial premises, fire-rated buildings, and multi-occupancy sites. Our skilled technicians handle every project from initial assessment to final handover.
Our qualified electricians and certified inspectors carry out every installation from first fix through to final commissioning. We don’t subcontract – our own employees handle every stage. The same team that wires your distribution board and routes your conduit also terminates your luminaire connections, tests your circuits, and signs your certificate.
We work with non-maintained, maintained, and sustained emergency lighting configurations. We know when a self-contained rechargeable battery fitting suits a small corridor and when a central-battery inverter system is the right call for a large multi-floor building. That knowledge ensures every system operates properly and remains reliable in operation – ready when it matters most.
Every job includes detailed inspections, a full inspection report, a completed test sheet, and a risk assessment. We label every circuit, log every fitting, and hand you documentation that satisfies your fire safety assessor, your insurance provider, and your local authority.
Our electricians hold current qualifications and carry out work to BS5266 Part 1 and BS7671 18th Edition. We offer routine maintenance plans with regular testing and annual testing schedules – including return visits for annual discharge testing so your system stays compliant year after year.
Kochs Electric is the top-rated choice for expert emergency exit lighting installation – reliable, thorough, and fully accountable on every job, ensuring your system is always ready when it counts.
Signs You Need Emergency Exit Lighting Installation
1. Your exit signs are missing or obstructed: If your escape route has no illuminated or photoluminescent exit sign at each decision point, you’re non-compliant. Carry out a visual walk-through and check for visible damage, obstructions, or missing signs. Signs must be legible, visible, and unobstructed at all times. A missing pictogram above a fire door or a blocked directional arrow in a corridor puts occupants at risk and exposes you to enforcement action.
2. Your luminaires fail the duration test: Emergency luminaires must sustain rated lux output for a minimum of one hour – three hours in some occupancy categories. If your fittings cut out early during a discharge test, the batteries are degraded and the units need replacement. Kochs Electric carries out full duration testing and provides repair services, including swapping out faulty self-contained or central-battery fittings on the same visit.
3. Your building has been refurbished or reconfigured: Any change to internal walls, ceilings, or escape routes can create issues with your existing emergency lighting layout. New corridors, relocated stairwells, or added fire doors all require a fresh zone and coverage assessment. We review your floor plan, update the schematic, and install additional luminaires to ensure full coverage along every escape route.
4. Your system has no test record or logbook: A compliant emergency exit lighting installation requires regular maintenance and a maintained logbook with dated entries for every function test, discharge test, and inspection – including monthly checks and a full annual test. No logbook means no audit trail. Kochs Electric sets up your log, completes the first entries, and schedules your ongoing testing program.
5. Your fittings are fluorescent, aged, or defective: Older fluorescent emergency luminaires draw more wattage, carry degraded ballast gear, and deliver lower lumen output than current LED equivalents. Defective or faulty fittings that fail to illuminate on activation are a direct compliance failure. We handle all repair and replacement work – fitting rated LED luminaires, re-terminating the wiring, and re-testing the circuit to confirm proper functioning.
Our Emergency Exit Lighting Installation Process
Step 1 — Site Survey and Risk Assessment We visit your premises, walk every escape route, and carry out a detailed assessment of your corridors, stairwells, fire doors, and assembly points. We measure lux levels, check existing coverage, and identify gaps in your current layout.
Step 2 — System Design and Schedule We produce a floor plan schematic showing luminaire positions, circuit zones, and fitting types. We specify whether a self-contained or central-battery system suits your building and confirm that each fitting meets the wattage, lumen output, and duration requirements.
Step 3 — First Fix Wiring Our electricians route conduit or trunking, pull cable, and chase containment where required. We wire back to the consumer unit or distribution board, install the correct MCB or RCBO protection, and earth and bond all metalwork.
Step 4 — Luminaire Installation and Termination We mount each luminaire – surface-mounted, recessed, or flush – secure the backplate and housing, terminate the conductors at the terminal block, and connect the CPC. We fit exit signs, directional arrows, and legend plates at the correct height and angle.
Step 5 — Testing and Commissioning We carry out continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, and earth fault loop impedance tests on every circuit. We run a full discharge test on each fitting, verify lux levels at floor level, and confirm duration performance – ensuring every light is safe, reliable, and meets quality requirements.
Step 6 — Certification and Handover We complete the BS5266 installation certificate, sign the inspection report, fill in the logbook, and hand you the full documentation pack.
Brands We Use
Kochs Electric installs emergency exit lighting products from the most trusted manufacturers in the industry. Every brand we specify meets BS5266 and carries the relevant safety certifications.
- Zumtobel
- Legrand
- Eaton (Ceag)
- Hochiki
- Ansell Lighting
- Knightsbridge
- Menvier
- Thorn Lighting
- Cooper Lighting (now Eaton)
- Tamlite
Every product we install is sourced from verified suppliers, correctly rated for the installation environment, and tested on-site before we sign the certificate.
Other Services
| Emergency exit lighting installation | Emergency lighting installation service | BS5266 emergency lighting compliance |
| Emergency exit light fitting | Exit sign installation electrician | Self-contained emergency luminaire wiring |
| Commercial emergency lighting installation | Emergency lighting system installation | Central-battery emergency lighting setup |
| Emergency lighting testing and certification | Emergency light inspection and testing | Duration test discharge test emergency lighting |
| Emergency exit sign installation | Illuminated exit sign fitting service | Photoluminescent exit sign installation electrician |
| Exit lighting services | Repair services emergency lighting | Routine maintenance emergency lighting |
| Regular testing emergency exit lights | Annual testing emergency lighting | Life safety code compliance lighting |
FAQs About Emergency Exit Lighting Installation
What is emergency exit lighting installation?
Emergency exit lighting installation is the process of wiring, mounting, testing, and certifying equipment including luminaires and exit signs that activate automatically when the mains supply fails. The system provides illumination along escape routes, corridors, stairwells, and exit doors so occupants can evacuate safely. Properly installed and maintained life safety lighting ensures your building is always ready and compliant.
When does a building need emergency exit lighting?
Any building with an occupancy load above a single dwelling requires compliant emergency lighting to meet life safety code requirements. This includes offices, retail premises, warehouses, schools, care homes, and multi-unit residential blocks. If your building has a designated escape route, it needs emergency lighting installed and maintained to BS5266 and any applicable safety code.
Why does emergency exit lighting need testing?
Batteries degrade over time. A fitting that looks operational may fail to sustain rated lux output during an actual power failure. Regular testing – including monthly function checks and annual testing discharge cycles – confirms that every luminaire activates, illuminates, and holds output properly for the required duration, typically one to three hours depending on occupancy category.
How does a self-contained emergency luminaire work?
A self-contained fitting contains its own rechargeable battery, charging circuit, and lamp driver. It stays connected to the mains supply to keep the battery charged. When the supply is interrupted, the fitting detects the loss of power and switches to battery automatically, activating the lamp within five seconds.
Can Kochs Electric upgrade fluorescent emergency fittings to LED?
Yes. We carry out full replacement of existing fluorescent emergency luminaires with quality LED equivalents, re-terminate the wiring, update the installation schedule, and re-test the full circuit. If only some fittings have issues, we also offer targeted repair services. LED fittings draw less wattage, deliver higher lumen output, and carry longer battery backup life than fluorescent units.
Does Kochs Electric provide the compliance certificate?
Yes. Every emergency exit lighting installation we complete includes a signed BS5266 installation certificate, a detailed inspection report, a test sheet, and a logbook covering all inspections carried out. This documentation helps satisfy your fire safety assessor, insurer, and local authority. You receive the full documentation pack at handover.
How do I get a quote for emergency exit lighting installation or repairs?
Contact Kochs Electric to get a quote for new installation, routine maintenance, or emergency repairs. Our technicians are ready to assess your building, identify any issues, and recommend the right solution – whether that’s a full system install, a replacement fitting, or targeted repairs to get your existing system functioning properly. Call us at (317) 680-7907 or email [email protected].