The laws regulating the emergency lighting system have been in place since 1940 and the structures erected for commercial purpose, institutional purpose or for industrial use are required to meet given expectations in regards to this. The emergency exit signs with lights for instance must be strategically placed along the exit route and must remain illuminated for not less than 90 minutes after the main light source goes off.
For uniformity and to ensure that all gadgets used meet the basic requirements, there are several laws that act as guideline for manufacturing and installing these gadgets. Most of these are outlined in the International Building Code Standards (IBC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The specific parts are the NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code), NFPA 99 (Health Care Facility), NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) and NFPA 111 Standards for Emergency and Standby Power System. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the body that comes with these safety requirements.
The prerequisites as expressed by OSHA states each route leading to the exit door sufficiently lighted so that anybody with ordinary vision easily locate the route. The gadget itself needs to have an EXIT sign written with bold and clear letters not less than six inches in size. An arrow showing the direction is to be used together with the writing in parts of the rout where the direction is not obvious.
The illumination requirements are defined in the NFPA 101. The requirements include a fluorescence source or an incandescent and are contained on the surface of the device being illuminated. If it is to be internally illuminated, the light source is then located inside the device.
This could have variety of sources ranging from fluorescent, incandescent, LED, electro luminescent or even photoluminescent. For the photoluminescent signs, the device must be illuminated by a self-contained power source that it able to operate independent from any other sources. As such, batteries do not qualify for this category.
The Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is the final arbiter in regards to safety practices and equipment in their locality. As such, they have the final say on reliability of illumination. The major requirements are only that the face of sign remains continuous illuminated for stipulated hours and all the markings and writing on its surface are clearly visible all this time.
The devices that are commonly in use are the photoluminescent signs and are exposed to independent light source for a given duration of time to be fully charged ready to function. This is the only way they are guaranteed to work at any time when the fire alarm goes on or when the main power source fails.
In the market, not all the emergency illumination systems are similar, provided that the one bought is certified by the relevant authorities; it should be good to go. However, there are a number of factors to consider when selecting the most appropriate lighten sign for an emergency path. The significant issues to consider are the environmental conditions like the temperature, moisture, dusts and the level of hazard in the place. A place that is very wet or dump needs specific signs and so on.
For uniformity and to ensure that all gadgets used meet the basic requirements, there are several laws that act as guideline for manufacturing and installing these gadgets. Most of these are outlined in the International Building Code Standards (IBC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The specific parts are the NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code), NFPA 99 (Health Care Facility), NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) and NFPA 111 Standards for Emergency and Standby Power System. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the body that comes with these safety requirements.
The prerequisites as expressed by OSHA states each route leading to the exit door sufficiently lighted so that anybody with ordinary vision easily locate the route. The gadget itself needs to have an EXIT sign written with bold and clear letters not less than six inches in size. An arrow showing the direction is to be used together with the writing in parts of the rout where the direction is not obvious.
The illumination requirements are defined in the NFPA 101. The requirements include a fluorescence source or an incandescent and are contained on the surface of the device being illuminated. If it is to be internally illuminated, the light source is then located inside the device.
This could have variety of sources ranging from fluorescent, incandescent, LED, electro luminescent or even photoluminescent. For the photoluminescent signs, the device must be illuminated by a self-contained power source that it able to operate independent from any other sources. As such, batteries do not qualify for this category.
The Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is the final arbiter in regards to safety practices and equipment in their locality. As such, they have the final say on reliability of illumination. The major requirements are only that the face of sign remains continuous illuminated for stipulated hours and all the markings and writing on its surface are clearly visible all this time.
The devices that are commonly in use are the photoluminescent signs and are exposed to independent light source for a given duration of time to be fully charged ready to function. This is the only way they are guaranteed to work at any time when the fire alarm goes on or when the main power source fails.
In the market, not all the emergency illumination systems are similar, provided that the one bought is certified by the relevant authorities; it should be good to go. However, there are a number of factors to consider when selecting the most appropriate lighten sign for an emergency path. The significant issues to consider are the environmental conditions like the temperature, moisture, dusts and the level of hazard in the place. A place that is very wet or dump needs specific signs and so on.
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