A
AReynolds
Hello. I am required to produce a design for an electrical installation of a proposed Community Centre, and I am having some problems determining a workable method of connecting of the Non-Maintained Emergency Lighting, which is provided using battery packs to be incorporated into the relevant luminaires.
My problem lies in meeting one of the requirements of BS 5266-1:2016, which demands that the emergency lights monitor their circuit for an interruption of supply, with (in my particular case) the emergency batteries discharging and supplying their lights during the interruption. This is because most of the lighting circuits will be actuated by contactors, which in turn are actuated by a 230V control circuit. In addition to this, a 'Last Man Out' Switch will be provided to actuate every lighting circuit in the building, which necessitates actuating every lighting circuit through an additional set of contactors, which require input from another 230V control circuit.
As such, for most of the lighting circuits, a failure of supply from one of three circuits (Lighting supply, Operational Control Circuit and 'Last Man Out' Control Circuit) could cause the lights on a given circuit to fail. As such, there is a clear requirement for the emergency lighting batteries on most of my lighting circuits to be triggered in the event of one or more of the three circuits described failing. I do not know how to connect the emergency lighting batteries on each circuit in such a way as to make this happen.
I have considered doing away with the operational contactors and control circuit- which would result in me having to lengthen the cable runs of each lighting circuit to the point where voltage drop becomes problematic. I have also considered using programmable relays that might be deployed as a kind of 230V, 6A Three Input AND gate to facilitate the emergency light monitoring of the supply status of three circuits. However, I fear that this would be prohibitively expensive, and would increase the difficulty of maintenance.
As you can see, I am stuck for a solution, and I would appreciate the advice of anyone who knows more about Emergency Lighting and Electrical design in solving my problem.
My problem lies in meeting one of the requirements of BS 5266-1:2016, which demands that the emergency lights monitor their circuit for an interruption of supply, with (in my particular case) the emergency batteries discharging and supplying their lights during the interruption. This is because most of the lighting circuits will be actuated by contactors, which in turn are actuated by a 230V control circuit. In addition to this, a 'Last Man Out' Switch will be provided to actuate every lighting circuit in the building, which necessitates actuating every lighting circuit through an additional set of contactors, which require input from another 230V control circuit.
As such, for most of the lighting circuits, a failure of supply from one of three circuits (Lighting supply, Operational Control Circuit and 'Last Man Out' Control Circuit) could cause the lights on a given circuit to fail. As such, there is a clear requirement for the emergency lighting batteries on most of my lighting circuits to be triggered in the event of one or more of the three circuits described failing. I do not know how to connect the emergency lighting batteries on each circuit in such a way as to make this happen.
I have considered doing away with the operational contactors and control circuit- which would result in me having to lengthen the cable runs of each lighting circuit to the point where voltage drop becomes problematic. I have also considered using programmable relays that might be deployed as a kind of 230V, 6A Three Input AND gate to facilitate the emergency light monitoring of the supply status of three circuits. However, I fear that this would be prohibitively expensive, and would increase the difficulty of maintenance.
As you can see, I am stuck for a solution, and I would appreciate the advice of anyone who knows more about Emergency Lighting and Electrical design in solving my problem.