THE IMPORTANCE OF EMERGENCY LIGHTING SYSTEMS

Emergency lighting and exit signage provide essential guidance during power failures, ensuring safe evacuation. Modern systems like Clever Light meet key standards and enhance safety with reliable backup and smart monitoring.

INTRODUCTION

Emergency lighting and exit signage are not merely regulatory obligations they are essential safety infrastructure. In emergencies, such as fire or power outages, normal lighting may fail, and people require clearly visible guidance to evacuate safely. Properly designed emergency lighting helps prevent panic and enables the orderly evacuation of a building (Shrahily, 2025).

Studies have shown that in darkness, without illuminated exit signage, evacuation time may increase by approximately 27% (Kinkel et al., 2024).

WHY IS EMERGENCY LIGHTING ESSENTIAL?

The primary function of emergency lighting is to provide illumination along escape routes and mark exits clearly during power failures or fires. Navigation becomes extremely difficult in darkness or smoke. Disorientation is a natural human response and can quickly lead to panic. Proper emergency lighting including low-level floor lights and highly visible "running man" pictograms clearly indicates exits, reduces uncertainty and congestion, and facilitates quicker, more orderly evacuation (Shrahily, 2025).

EN 1838 specifies that escape routes must receive an average of at least 1 lux of illuminance at floor level, and open (anti-panic) areas must receive a minimum of 0.5 lux (CEN, 2013).

For comparison:

A full moonlit night provides approx. 0.05–0.3 lux (Kyba et al., 2017)
Street lighting averages around 15–30 lux (Warehouse Fit Out Group, n.d.)
A typical living room is lit to about 100–300 lux (Green Business Light, n.d.)

The purpose of emergency lighting is not to replicate daylight levels, but to provide sufficient illumination to identify hazards and exits safely even in darkness or smoke.

KEY COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE SYSTEM

Visibility and Exit Signage: Exit signs use ISO-standard pictograms: a white “running man” and arrow on a green background indicate the direction of escape. ISO 7010 specifies that safety green (RAL 6032) and white contrast ensure international recognizability (ISO, 2019).

RELIABILITY, BATTERY BACKUP, AND DURATION

Emergency lighting systems must remain operational for at least 1 hour during power outages, though 90 minutes or even 3 hours may be required by local standards. Clever Light luminaires are available with 1- or 3-hour battery options. Regular testing is crucial. Modern smart luminaires (e.g., self-testing units) automatically report faults.

ADDRESSABLE, INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS

Addressable systems are centrally monitored through control panels, enabling automated testing and fault detection (e.g., Clever Light 24V central battery addressable system). The Clever Light CL-D300 dynamic exit sign can adapt the displayed direction based on fire alarm signals in emergency situations.

CONCLUSION

Emergency lighting is a cornerstone of safe building operation. It is not merely a regulatory requirement, but a genuinely life-saving system. Clever Light solutions demonstrate that the technology is available to implement effective and modern emergency lighting.

‍

REFERENCES

CEN (2013). EN 1838:2013 Lighting applications – Emergency lighting. European Committee for Standardization. https://otcind.net/download/EN_1838_2013.pdf
ISO (2019). ISO 7010:2019 Graphical symbols – Safety colours and safety signs – Registered safety signs. International Organization for Standardization. https://www.iso.org/standard/72439.html
Kinkel, E., van der Wal, C.N. and Hoogendoorn, S.P. (2024). The effects of three environmental factors on building evacuation time. Heliyon, 10(5), e027128. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10943335/
Shrahily, R.Y. (2025). Comparative analysis of engineering building evacuation efficiency: a two-phase study on multi-exit versus single-exit strategies at Al-Baha University. J. Umm Al-Qura University for Engineering and Architecture, 16(1). https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Comparative+analysis+of+engineering+building+evacuation+efficiency&author=R.Y.+Shrahily
Kyba, C.C.M., Mohar, A. & Posch, T. (2017). How bright is moonlight? Astronomy & Geophysics, 58(1), 1.31–1.33. https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/58/1/1.31/2938119
Warehouse Fit Out Group (n.d.). Ultimate Guide to Recommended Lux Levels. https://www.warehousefitoutgroup.co.uk/posts/ultimate-guide-to-recommended-lux-levels
LEDYi Lighting (2023). Miért elengedhetetlen a vészvilágítás? https://www.ledyilighting.com/hu/why-is-emergency-lighting-essential/

‍