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Emergency lighting is a critical life safety system required in most non-domestic buildings, designed to guide occupants safely out during power failures, fire emergencies, or other incidents. When normal lighting fails, emergency systems must illuminate escape routes, exits, and key safety points to ensure safe and efficient evacuation. This is not just best practice – it is a legal and operational responsibility of the building’s Responsible Person.
At EIT Ltd, we provide comprehensive emergency lighting installation, testing, servicing, maintenance, and repair services for commercial and public-sector premises across Teesside. Our experienced emergency lighting installers design and install systems that meet current UK safety regulations and standards, ensuring full compliance and reliability.
We work with a wide range of facilities, including offices, schools, healthcare environments, retail spaces, warehouses, and industrial buildings. Our compliance-led, engineer-driven approach focuses on how buildings are actually used, delivering systems that perform when needed, are properly maintained, and stand up to inspection and audit requirements.
Complete a quick self-assessment and see where EIT can help.
Written by: Nick Rafferty, Electrical Services & Business Development Manager
24+ years delivering commercial electrical works with strong H&S standards
Compliance-led servicing and maintenance planning for safety-critical systems
Practical installation delivery and client support across active sites
Last reviewed: 3 February 2026
Emergency lighting is a backup lighting system that automatically activates when the main power supply fails. It provides illumination along escape routes, staircases, corridors, and exits so occupants can safely evacuate a building.
Emergency lighting systems are required by UK safety regulations and building standards. They help prevent accidents during emergencies and ensure that occupants can clearly see evacuation routes.
For commercial properties, emergency lighting installation is an essential safety requirement. Properly installed systems reduce risks, support compliance with fire safety regulations, and help protect both staff and visitors during emergencies.
We provide a complete range of services for emergency lighting systems, including design, installation, testing, and maintenance. Our engineers ensure every system is installed correctly and maintained to meet current compliance standards.
As experienced emergency lighting installers in Teesside, we support both new building projects and upgrades to existing systems.
Effective emergency lighting begins with proper system design. Our specialists assess your building layout, escape routes, and safety requirements to design an efficient emergency lighting system.
Our emergency lighting design services include:
A well-designed system ensures that all key areas remain illuminated during a power outage
Our team provides professional emergency lighting installation for commercial and public buildings. We install reliable emergency lighting systems that operate automatically during power failures.
Installation services include:
All installations are carried out by qualified engineers to ensure full compliance with UK safety standards.
Choose an emergency lighting contractor who prioritises compliance, safety, and full-service support. Make sure they understand UK regulations (like BS 5266), use qualified engineers, and offer end-to-end services—including design, installation, testing, maintenance, and documentation.
Also, check their experience with similar buildings, ability to carry out site surveys, and reliability for ongoing support. Avoid contractors who only install systems without offering testing or compliance support.
Emergency lighting installation must follow strict safety regulations to ensure buildings remain safe during emergencies. UK legislation requires commercial properties to maintain properly functioning emergency lighting systems along escape routes and exits.
Working with a qualified emergency lighting contractor ensures your installation meets these legal requirements and operates reliably during emergencies.
Our installation process ensures that every emergency lighting system is installed safely and efficiently.
The process typically includes:
This structured approach ensures your commercial emergency lighting in Teesside meets required safety standards.
In real terms, this means:
Failure to install or maintain emergency lighting correctly can lead to enforcement action, invalidated insurance, and serious safety risks during an incident.
Different types of emergency lighting systems are used depending on building requirements, occupancy levels, and safety regulations.
Understanding these systems helps building managers choose the most appropriate solution for their property.
Maintained emergency lighting systems operate continuously as part of the normal lighting system. When the main power supply fails, the lights remain illuminated using backup battery power.
These systems are commonly used in areas where lighting must always remain visible, such as:
Maintained lighting ensures exit signs and escape routes are always visible.
Non-maintained emergency lighting systems only activate when the main power supply fails. These lights remain off during normal operation and automatically switch on during an emergency.
They are commonly used in:
This type of system provides efficient emergency lighting while reducing energy consumption during normal operation.
Our team is experienced in all aspects of emergency lighting systems, from design and installation to servicing and repairs. We ensure that every project meets the highest safety standards and complies with all legal requirements.
We tailor our services to your specific needs, ensuring your emergency lighting system provides the safety and reliability you expect. Whether it’s a new installation or routine servicing, we focus on keeping your business safe and compliant.
We understand that downtime can be costly. That’s why we work quickly and efficiently to install and maintain your emergency lighting systems, ensuring minimal disruption to your business operations.
Our services are competitively priced, offering transparent, upfront pricing without compromising quality. We work within your budget to deliver cost-effective solutions that meet safety standards and provide long-term reliability.
Emergency lighting systems must be tested regularly to ensure they operate correctly during emergencies. In the UK, testing procedures follow the requirements of BS 5266, which outlines standards for emergency lighting installation, inspection, and maintenance.
Routine testing ensures that emergency lighting systems remain functional and compliant with safety regulations.
BS 5266 emergency lighting testing guidance sets out how systems should be tested, recorded and maintained. In practice, compliance means more than ticking boxes.
Routine testing is essential to confirm that emergency lighting systems activate correctly during power failures.
Typical testing procedures include:
Regular testing helps identify faults before they become serious safety issues.
Emergency lighting systems require periodic inspection and maintenance to ensure reliability.
Our emergency lighting contractors provide:
These services help ensure your emergency lighting systems remain fully operational.
A compliant approach includes:
Maintaining accurate records is an important part of emergency lighting system compliance. Proper documentation helps demonstrate that systems are regularly inspected, tested, and maintained.
An emergency lighting logbook is not optional paperwork. It is the formal record that shows how the system has been tested, maintained and repaired.
Emergency lighting servicing does not have to be carried out by the original installer. Any competent emergency lighting engineer can take responsibility for ongoing maintenance.
An emergency lighting logbook records all testing, inspections, and maintenance work carried out on a system.
Well-maintained records make audits, inspections and handovers far easier and reduce risk during enforcement visits.
When taking over maintenance of an existing system, our engineers review the current installation and documentation.
A proper takeover process includes:
Emergency lighting systems can develop faults over time due to battery degradation, wiring issues, or component failure. Prompt emergency lighting repairs help ensure the system remains reliable during emergencies.
Our engineers provide fast fault diagnosis and repair services for commercial emergency lighting in Teesside.
Emergency lighting repairs are often required when testing identifies faults or when fittings show visible issues.
Ignoring faults leaves escape routes unprotected and exposes the Responsible Person to compliance risk. Prompt repairs, followed by re-testing and documentation, restore both safety and confidence.
Some of the most common emergency lighting faults include:
Identifying and repairing these faults quickly helps maintain a safe environment for building occupants.
Modern emergency lighting systems often include audible alarms or indicator lights to signal faults.
Common warning signs include:
These warnings should never be ignored. They are an early sign that the system may not operate correctly during a real power failure.
Facilities managers often balance multiple sites, competing priorities and limited shutdown windows. Emergency lighting maintenance must fit into this reality.
A structured service plan helps by:
This approach removes uncertainty and enables facilities teams to demonstrate control over life-safety responsibilities.
Choosing an experienced emergency lighting contractor ensures your safety systems are installed and maintained correctly.
EIT LTD is committed to providing reliable emergency lighting services that meet all BAFE legal and safety requirements.
Our services include:
With our expertise and commitment to safety, you can trust us to keep your emergency lighting systems fully operational and compliant.
Emergency lighting is one of those systems you only notice when it fails - and that’s exactly why design, testing and records matter. We help clients keep escape routes protected and compliance evidence audit-ready at all times.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person must ensure that emergency routes and exits requiring illumination have adequate emergency lighting and that fire safety measures are maintained. In leased buildings, the Responsible Person can be the landlord, tenant, managing agent, or shared, depending on who has control of the premises and maintenance responsibilities.
If things go wrong, enforcement can be serious, with penalties including unlimited fines and, for the most serious offences, up to two years’ imprisonment.
Duration should be based on evacuation strategy and re-occupation risk, not habit.
This is set out in guidance based on BS 5266.
The monthly functional test can often be performed in-house if the person conducting it is competent and follows a consistent method, but many organisations use a contractor to maintain confidence and audit resilience.
A compliant approach typically includes:
Industry guidance aligns monthly functional tests and annual full-duration tests with BS 5266 requirements.
Treat it as a life safety defect, not a minor maintenance issue.
A sensible response is:
BAFE guidance explicitly points to logging failures and introducing alternative safety procedures until repaired.
If you are responsible for a commercial or public sector building, emergency lighting should never be an afterthought. Whether you are planning a new installation, reviewing an existing system, or need ongoing emergency lighting maintenance, professional support makes compliance manageable and reliable.
Speak to our team to discuss your building, your responsibilities and the most practical way to manage emergency lighting safely and effectively.