Emergency lighting testing: the monthly and annual checks (BS 5266)

Emergency lighting has to work on the worst day — a power cut during an evacuation — so BS 5266-1 sets a testing routine that proves it will. There are really two tests to remember, plus a logbook that ties it all together.

The monthly function test

A short test that simulates a mains failure and confirms every luminaire and exit sign illuminates and its indicator works. It’s brief on purpose — you’re checking function, not draining the batteries.

The annual full-duration test

Once a year the system is tested for its full rated duration — usually three hours — to prove the batteries hold up for the whole period. It’s done when the building can afford the recharge time afterwards, because the batteries will be flat at the end.

The logbook

BS 5266-1 expects a record: the tests carried out, any faults found and put right, and the person responsible. That record is what a fire officer or insurer asks to see, and it’s where a lot of firms are weakest — not on the testing, but on the paper trail.

Keeping the records straight

Worksum issues an emergency lighting certificate to BS 5266-1 / BS EN 50172, records variations and defects, and — because it knows when the last one was done — reminds you when the next monthly or annual test is due, so a portfolio of buildings doesn’t drift out of test.