English
Emergency lighting, escape routes lighting and anti-panic lighting are defined by the appropriate standards, depending on the type of premises and the nature of its use.
Emergency lighting is used in case of a failure of standard lighting; it must remain fully functional even during a power outage. Its power supply is provided by independent sources, either separate (each emergency light is fitted with a battery that guarantees the required lighting time), or central, where the emergency power is distributed from a central source to individual lights.
In accordance with the Decree no.246/2001 Coll. establishing fire safety conditions and state fire surveillance (the Fire Prevention Decree), the emergency lighting represents a fire safety equipment.
Alternative lighting is a type of emergency lighting, which makes it possible to continue in normal activities without substantial changes.
Anti-panic lighting (in public spaces) should prevent panic and enable people to safely move towards escape routes. It is defined by hygiene requirements, so e.g. even an office space with an area of over 60 m2 must have anti-panic lighting (a condition for the approval). The lighting is defined by the illuminance value > 0.5lx at the floor level; this does not apply to a 0.5 meter-wide perimeter of the room. The minimum duration of lighting is 1 hour
Emergency escape lighting must allow the users to safely escape from the premises by providing proper lighting and marking the direction of escape.
In dwelling houses and houses for individual leisure time activities there is no obligation to install emergency lighting, but with regard to safety of the inhabitants and more comfortable arrival to the house during a power outage (disarming the alarm, movement in the entrance area, etc.), it is recommended to consider installation of at least basic emergency lighting when planning smart control of your house.
The following examples do not deal with emergency lighting in the light of the relevant standards (public buildings, meeting places for people, manufacturing facilities, etc.), but only with the automatically controlled lighting during a power failure, or possibly according to the level of outdoor lighting and the presence of people.
It is advantageous to use the distribution from the CIB bus and the bus modules for the basic emergency lighting, as it provides both the 12 V voltage supply, and control of the emergency lights.
An independent power supply (typically 12 VDC) can also be used; it should be distributed to the locations of the emergency lights. It is controlled by standard relay outputs of the control system.
It is advantageous to use the LED lighting for emergency purposes, either as independent lights, e.g. in suspended ceilings, or the emergency lights can be fitted in standard lights as an additional source, e.g. a short LED strip powered from the 12 V output of CFox modules (e.g. the C-WG-0503S) - see the following example.