Emergency lighting is typically used during a crisis situation whenever the main power supply in the home or workplace has failed.

The loss of a main source of energy could occur because of a local fire or a power outage in the area. This can lead to sudden darkness in the home or workplace, which could potentially be dangerous to residents or employees.

Emergency lighting is usually required in order to provide enough light so that everyone is able to evacuate the premises safely and securely. Many buildings that have been built recently have emergency lights pre-installed. The design and type lighting used in these buildings is usually approved at that time by a local planning authority.

There are several guidelines that all buildings in the UK must adhere to when it comes to having emergency lighting installed. The British Standard will have to provide the designer with these guidelines in order for everything to be approved. All types of buildings must have their lights approved, including buildings such as hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, colleges, museums, and multi-storey dwellings.

You should always remember that the standards for emergency lights are also minimum safety standards for these types of premises, and some cases may require a higher standard for each particular installation.

Emergency lighting is available for use when the supply of normal lighting fails for some reason or another. Emergency lighting is a general term that can be used for escape lighting and standby lighting purposes.

Emergency escape lighting, for example, is the type of lighting that provides enough light for a building to be evacuated safely or for a potentially dangerous process to be terminated.

Standby lighting allows normal activities to continue without any changes. Standby lighting is not a legal requirement for major businesses or institutions and it is something that an employer or building owner chooses to purchase by choice - rather than necessity.

Emergency lighting that is used for escape purposes is broken down into escape route lighting, open area lighting and high risk task area lighting.

Emergency escape route lighting is provided to help make sure that all of the escape routes in the building can be indentified properly and safely used when the building is occupied.

Open area lighting, also known as anti-panic lighting in some areas, is provided in order to calm those inside a building when power is lost - thus averting panic. It provides enough lighting so that the people inside are be able to leave the building properly.

High risk task area lighting provides enough illumination so that all of the people who are inside the building will be able to properly shut down any equipment that is located inside; it also provides enough light for everyone to be able to depart the area safely.

Employees working in buildings featuring emergency lights are usually taught about the types of scenario mentioned throughout this article - with drills conducted on a regular basis - so that they are appropriately prepared should an incident of this type occur.

Often preventing serious injuries when a main power source has gone down, emergency lighting is a requirement in many buildings. This article details the UK regulations and types of emergency lighting.