Emergency Lighting 110v Pigmy

[scotsparky78]

Hi All, hope someone can help me out. I am looking at a job just now regading emergency lighting but not sure how the land lies with the regs etc.

Currently in is 240v 4ft fluroscents switched on / off as per normal lighting and incorporated into these are 110v(battery bank) 15w pigmy lamps (always on so maintained).

The fittings are currently 25yrs old, diffusers ripped to pieces and shocking light output nevermind the T8 lamps, starters etc so the plan is to install 2 x 28w T5 HF fittings incorporating a 110v slave electronic ballast however i see a few problems but have answers i think!

I have already worked out the load factors etc in regards to the 110v and all is fine so here goes

1. When lights in the stairwell are switched off the pigmy stays on, if i replace with the intended fittings as mentioned above and the lights are switched off (its a college and kids will be kids) then there will be no lighting at all in the stairwell unless there is a power cut.

I was proposing to change the current light switches to key switches so only staff can turn them on/off, I also need to take a permanet feed to the new lightfitting to hold off the 110v(battery), so in a way I will have changed these fittings from maintained to non maintained which differs from the original install, so is this one for the fire officer, building control or changes made to the Fire Risk assessment? thing is the lux output currently is 1 lux at floor level, these fittings will be kicking out 80lux at floor level!



Your views will be of great value.

Thanks

 

[UNG]

Not seen one of these set-ups for many years and the ones I've seen the 110v is DC at the lamps if it is DC can the ballasts you have spec'ed up handle the DC voltage

I don't think you are going to be able to do what you are proposing as the sustained (maintained) lighting has obviously been designed into the building for a reason

I would suggest you look for similar fittings to the ones you are replacing from what you describe the existing fittings are similar to what are used in hospitals that have general lighting and night lights combined in one fitting. I think you need to speak with some lighting manufacturers to come up with a simple solution rather than the complicated one proposed

 

[Adam W]

Yes, this does sound overly complicated.
Why do you need these pygmy lamps on all the time? Could you replace them with a mixture of 8W maintained emergency bulkhead lights and 'ordinary' fluorescent battens?
Or emergency fluorescent battens with PIR switches.

I have even installed switches in schools before and nobody seemed overly worried about it; I'd be more concerned if all the teachers were given fish keys so could go around turning off the supplies to the emergency lights.

 

[Spark in a tie]

I'd be tempted to say that you'd have to retain these fittings as sustained (maintained) emergency lights or the chances are you'll have the local fire and council authorities paying you a friendly visit! Most installations of this type had been originally designed as maintained central battery unit systems, and therefore can only be changed for another operating system under application, or by replacement with a suitable alternative (in this case mains powered maintained emergency lights).
I'd suggest that it may well be more cost effective to both yourself and the customer to look at phasing out the CBU and installing some 8 watt maintained bulkheads with local test keys.

 

[scotsparky78]

I will try and answer some of your question. It is 110v DC main battery bank, withing the 240v fittings is a SBC pigmy fitting for the 110v lamp, i reckon this has been an add on 30yrs ago. The ballasts are Lite PLan and specfiacaly designed for this type of operation, I have 2 of the proposed fittings already in a corridor and they are fantastic. In regards to phasing out the CBU the customer has said this is not an option, in regards to the light fittings we are looking at over 250 across the building! I think it may be worth consulting with the fire officer on this one along with the local HSE? After all the lighting in the area will be improved!

 

[UNG]

I will try and answer some of your question. It is 110v DC main battery bank, withing the 240v fittings is a SBC pigmy fitting for the 110v lamp, i reckon this has been an add on 30yrs ago.

These fittings will have been a standard fitting the night light / emergency lighting add on was a standard feature of fittings installed in hospital wards years ago

The ballasts are Lite PLan and specfiacaly designed for this type of operation, I have 2 of the proposed fittings already in a corridor and they are fantastic. In regards to phasing out the CBU the customer has said this is not an option, in regards to the light fittings we are looking at over 250 across the building! I think it may be worth consulting with the fire officer on this one along with the local HSE? After all the lighting in the area will be improved!

The person you need to speak to is the person who carried out the fire risk assessment for the building, since the Fire Regulatory Reform Act 2005 came into force fire officers tend not to give advice but view the fire risk assessment to check if it and the safety systems and control measures in place meet the requirements for the type of building.

You say that you already have 2 fittings installed and with your comment I get the impression what ever is said on here will be disregarded by yourself unless some chooses to validate your proposed solution. While I agree that the normal lighting will be improved the safety / emergency lighting will be downgraded. You have identified the hazard that there will be no maintained lighting and the corridor is dark the appropriate control measure is to install / reinstate the maintained / sustained lighting result cancel meeting with building custodian / fire officer

I can only assume the 2 fittings you have installed are properly labelled warning of the additional 110VDC supply and notices are posted at the DB and CBU there could also be a safety issue during relamping if the fitting appears to be switched off should the circuit protection trip or a mains fail occurs and the 110VDC has not been isolated

 

[scotsparky78]

Hi UNG, i will take on board all comments and to be hoenst this job is not for money, I am in charge of and work in the building so I have no alterior motive to fit the new lights. The 2 fittings were an extionsion to the circuit to trial these fittings. All labels are present and relamping only carried out by trained personnell. From my first post I did mention contacting the FO, HSE and building control and also mentioned FRA etc so be rest assured I will take it serious and I am a professional after all! Thanks all for your feedback!