Emergency luminaires: features and characteristics of LED rechargeable light sources

In many areas, both residential and industrial, there is no way to provide natural light. They are illuminated only artificially: by means of electricity. But what if, due to some circumstances, the power supply is cut off? This is especially true for emergencies such as fire and others, when people need to hastily evacuate from a building. Emergency lighting fixtures come to the rescue in such situations.

The need to install devices

The safety of people in emergencies depends not only on the measures taken immediately at the time of emergencies. Extremely the measures envisaged are important, which primarily include:

• ensuring a sufficient number of accessible exits from the building;
• installation of emergency lighting devices in the room, that is, not dependent on electricity.

According to fire safety standards, all escape routes must be equipped with sources lighting of autonomous type, so that people can freely navigate and leave without delay building.

Especially the requirement to install special lamps applies to sections of tracks passing along:

• basement floors;
• dark corridors;
• other darkened rooms.

In addition to all possible routes for people to follow during evacuation, autonomous emergency lamps must be be equipped with all places of accommodation of rescue equipment, as well as all rooms in which the means are located fire extinguishing.

There are no restrictions on the use of emergency lamps - they can be installed at least in every room and on every wall. But this is solely at the request of the owner of the premises. The indicated locations are required. Compliance with these safety requirements is monitored and verified by the inspectors of the relevant services.

According to the current Russian legislation, lighting fixtures, independent of the power supply, in case emergency situations must be equipped in accordance with the established fire safety standards of the building as follows appointments:

• residential;
• office;
• industrial;
• warehouse;
• educational.

This list also includes any public institutions and institutions - restaurants and cafes, shops and shopping centers, hospitals and clinics, and so on.

Design and principle of operation of devices

In the role of autonomous light sources used in the event of emergency situations, special devices act - emergency lighting lamps with batteries. The housing of these devices contains:

• light bulbs;
• accumulator battery.

The principle of operation of stand-alone luminaires is very simple. During installation, they are connected to the mains. While the power is supplied, the battery is being recharged, which allows the device to always be in a state of full combat readiness. At the moment when the voltage in the network disappears, the device starts power from the battery and the light sources, that is, the bulbs, begin to work from its charge.

Varieties of devices

The range of the emergency lighting market is more than varied and wide. There are many factors by which these devices can be categorized into groups. According to the type of lamp functioning, there are two types of lamps - permanent and variable. At the first, the lights are on all the time - both in the presence of voltage in the mains, and in its absence (that is, when operating on battery power). For representatives of the second type, the light sources are turned on only in an emergency situation and are powered exclusively by the battery.

Luminaires with a constant type of action, in turn, are divided into two subtypes. The first is the so-called classic version. The bulbs are combined into a single structure that works regardless of what source the power is from - from electricity or from a battery.

The second subspecies are combined devices. The bulbs included in the design of these devices are divided into two parts - the main purpose and the emergency one. The main one is powered by electricity, the emergency one is powered by a battery, so it turns on only in case of emergency.

Another factor for distribution is the degree of autonomy of the device or the type of its control. Among all the devices existing on the market, devices are predominantly completely autonomous - they are each operated separately. The remaining share belongs to devices of a semi-autonomous type, that is, complex control - they are combined with each other and form a centralized emergency lighting system.

Of course luminaire models differ in shape, size and other external features, including:

• mounting method (wall or ceiling);
• appearance (in the form of a lamp or with an inscription - "Exit" or "Exit").

In addition to all this, there is one more criterion from among the main ones, dividing emergency lighting devices into several groups - this is the type of light bulb. As a light source in these devices, bulbs of one of three types can be installed:

• incandescent;
• daylight, they are also fluorescent;
• LED.

The latter option is currently the most common and popular. During its existence, lamps with LED-LEDs have almost ousted competitors with alternative types of bulbs.

Benefits of LED lamps

LED lamps have taken the predominant part of the market, deservedly so. These devices have a number of significant advantages that their main competitors cannot boast of.

Brightness and its adjustment

Devices based on LEDs in terms of the level of brightness of the light produced are in no way inferior to devices with conventional bulbs. But at the same time, the former give more uniform illumination.

They are characterized by minimal inertia (that is, they do not blink). And also do not distort the colors of surrounding things and objects. Unlike other lamps, these fixtures light up instantly when switched on, and immediately provide uniform and bright illumination.

The brightness of such a device is easily adjustable. LED-lamps in the device are arranged in groups, which allows, if desired or necessary, to turn on and off a certain number of light sources. For example, a luminaire with 24 LED bulbs can work at full strength when all the LEDs are on, and half if 12 bulbs are turned off.

Another option for reducing the brightness of the light is to lower the power by switching to the economy mode provided by the manufacturers. In this phase, all indicators of the device - brightness, power, power consumption, and so on - are halved.

Even in normal mode, LEDs are characterized by extremely low power consumption, which saves money several times. In addition, this results in a long battery life of the light source. A single charge is often enough not only to take evacuation measures, but also to fully carry out the work necessary to prevent an emergency.

Service life and safety

The overall lifespan of the LED device also stands out for its length.

The need to replace a device with a new one arises infrequently. And the LEDs themselves operate much longer than conventional bulbs. LED lighting fixtures are environmentally friendly and safe. The design of the device does not contain toxic substances, harmful chemical compounds and alloys. Led bulbs do not heat up, which makes them less safe in emergencies.

Thanks to all these advantages, rechargeable LED-type emergency lighting fixtures are considered to be the most practical fixtures in their category.

Basic selection parameters

The choice of an emergency luminaire with a battery should be approached with the utmost responsibility and care, since safety will depend on its work under certain circumstances of people.

To decide on a specific device, it is necessary to consider and compare the models on the market in terms of some technical characteristics and parameters.

Among them, among the main ones, there are such indicators initially indicated by manufacturers as:

• brightness;
• battery capacity.

For LEDs, brightness is measured in lumens (denoted by Lm). For example, 60 ultra-bright LEDs will produce 180 lumens of illumination.

The battery capacity determines the duration of the operating session of the LED emergency lighting lamp with a battery. Usually, when the battery is fully charged, the power supply is sufficient for a period of 2 to 5 hours in normal operation (in the saving phase, the period will be doubled). In addition to these standard devices, there are models on the market that can be fully charged for 7 hours. According to experts, it takes up to 3 hours to resolve emergency situations in most cases. Thus, the majority of devices have enough charge volume with a margin.

It is important to remember that the battery of the device "wears out" over time. Depending on the intensity of lamp usage, the battery condition will deteriorate approximately 3-5 years after installation. The operating time from a single charge will be noticeably reduced. At this point, the rechargeable LED emergency light needs to be updated.