Lighting up time

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) ensures that all
buildings are accessible and user-friendly to those with a
wide range of disabilities. Paul Turner explains the
importance of having an emergency lighting system
that is DDA compliant

The Disability Discrimination Act
(DDA) makes it unlawful for
building owners and service
providers to treat disabled people less
favourably for a reason related to their
disability. It was first introduced in
1996, but it wasn’t until 2004 that
reasonable adjustments to the physical
features of buildings had be put in place.

As with every other aspect of a
building’s infrastructure, this also
applies to emergency lighting.

Law and order
While there may be a lack of specific
guidelines in the DDA itself, there is one
standard which is very clear in terms of
what is required when it comes to
emergency lighting provision. BS5266-
1:2005 is the code of practice for the
emergency lighting of premises, and offers
guidance on the positioning of emergency
luminaires, minimum height levels,
acceptable glare levels and minimum
routine testing schedules. The guidelines
within BS5266-1:2005 are compliant with
the content of the DDA.

The introduction of the Regulatory
Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 brought
all the elements of fire safety together. It
places the onus on a designated
‘responsible person’ within an
organisation to carry out risk assessments
to identify, manage and reduce the risk of
fire. This includes making sure that the
emergency lighting system is fit for
purpose.

Specifics
UK fire safety legislation states that people
in premises must be able to find their way
to a place of total safety if there is a fire, by
using escape routes that have enough
lighting.

If an area is larger than 60m2,
emergency lighting and signage should be
installed. When designing an emergency
lighting system, luminaires should be
installed at points of emphasis. These are
mandatory locations which feature
specific hazards, safety equipment and
signs.

BS5266-1:2005 states the maximum
viewing distances and luminance
conditions for safety signs. Signs are either
internally or externally illuminated and
the maximum viewing distances for
internally illuminated signs is 200 times
the panel height, and 100 times the panel
height for externally illuminated signs.

Additional emergency lighting should
be provided in toilet facilities and other
similar areas exceeding 8m2 floor area or
with no borrowed light, and all toilets for
the disabled.

Products
Using products with the correct Lux level
is imperative and BS5266-1:2005
recommends a minimum of 1 Lux at floor
level on escape routes. Emergency lighting
should also be positioned in such a way to
ensure that the brightness of a luminaire
doesn’t dazzle people, preventing
obstructions or signs from being properly
seen.

One significant technological
development is the use of light emitting
diode (LED) technology which is costeffective
and environmentally friendly – it
produces less than four per cent of the
carbon emissions of traditional lighting.

One lighting system, for example, utilises
LEDs and is based around an addressable,
emergency lighting control panel with
battery back up and features addressable,
self-contained luminaires and signage.

This system operates via functional
extra low voltage (FELV). This means that
the responsible person no longer has to
rely on an electrical contractor to
maintain the system. As the system is
FELV based and operates on 40V, the
responsible person can change a battery
or luminaire if required.

Maintenance
All emergency lighting systems and signs
should be regularly inspected and tested
in order to meet the requirements of
European law. Results obtained and
details of any corrective action should be
entered into a logbook which is held on
site.

A full record sheet needs to be
maintained for each emergency luminaire
and these sheets have to be available for
inspection by the authorities at any time.

Failure to provide full test records can
result in legal action and closure of the
building, and if the emergency lighting is
defective, the insurance policy for the
building may be invalid.

Provision
While the standards define an adequate
minimum provision for the safe
evacuation of a building, additional
emergency lighting should be installed if
necessary. A comprehensive risk
assessment is the key to making sure that
the DDA is complied with and the safety
of disabled persons is properly considered.

Paul Turner is the systems sales manager
of Hochiki Europe.