Emergency Lighting in 2025/2026: A Practical Compliance Guide to BS 5266 for Commercial Buildings

Emergency lighting is an essential safety consideration for commercial buildings. If you’re a building manager, you need to understand BS 5266 guidance. This standard outlines a code of practice for the design and electrical installation of lighting systems that safeguard building users in the event of a power outage.

What are the emergency lighting regulations in the UK? Emergency lighting offers a backup in case your main systems cut out due to a power failure. Its purpose is to ensure people can exit your building safely in the event of a blackout.

Your emergency lighting design should include:

Escape route lighting
Lighting for open areas such as landings or lobbies
High-risk task area lighting so that dangerous machinery can be safely shut down
Emergency safety lighting for low-risk situations

BS 5266 explained

BS 5266 covers the implementation of your emergency lighting system, ensuring it’s correctly installed and laying out emergency lighting testing requirements. As well as being a legal requirement, BS 5266 compliance establishes best practices for building safety, ensuring you meet the minimum standards.

What are my legal obligations under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005?

The Fire Safety Order applies to almost all buildings. Privately owned homes are excluded, but the order does apply to HMOs and blocks of flats.

As the “responsible person” for a building, you must undertake a Fire Risk Assessment, a mandatory requirement to identify fire risks and hazards. It’s also your legal duty to keep a record and take appropriate action.

You are also required to ensure your premises reach the required fire safety standards and that employees receive fire safety training. As part of your legal obligation, you must also test and maintain emergency lighting systems for fire safety compliance.

What are the specific testing schedules mandated by BS 5266-1 and BS EN 50172?

BS 2566-1 and BS EN 50172 require you to regularly test your emergency lighting, logging all test results and ensuring any necessary repairs are carried out. You must also keep installation drawings on the premises.

How often should you carry out emergency lighting tests?

There are several schedules to be aware of when testing your emergency lighting.

Daily (for central battery systems only): A visual inspection of the central panel indicators to check for faults.
Monthly emergency lighting test: A functional test simulating a brief power failure (maximum 10 minutes). Each luminaire is visually checked to ensure it’s correctly illuminated.
Annual testing: A full duration test simulating a power failure (maximum 180 minutes). This yearly test ensures that there’s sufficient battery power for the required period and enough brightness for the duration. Provided your system is compliant, you’ll receive your annual emergency lighting certificate after this test.

Accredited professionals are required to undertake Emergency Lighting Testing, and any remedial work must be carried out as soon as possible.

Take a look at our guide for more information on what emergency lighting testing is and how it works.

How can LED lighting keep your building compliant and energy efficient?

As a responsible person, you have a duty to maintain emergency lighting compliance. Beyond scheduling monthly ‘flick’ testing and your annual full duration test, you need to ensure that your emergency lighting design is fit for purpose:

Your system must provide coverage for all escape routes, including exits, stairways, and other areas where people may need to change direction.
Open areas, such as lobbies, require a minimum of 0.5 lux of illumination, with 1 lux along escape routes and 15 lux for high-risk task areas.
If the mains power fails, your emergency lighting system should activate within one second.
Emergency lighting must stay illuminated for a minimum of one hour, and three hours in premises where immediate evacuation is not possible.

Upgrading to modern LED emergency lighting could transform your compliance. Although an LED emergency lighting upgrade comes with a higher upfront cost, the ongoing energy savings more than make up for it.

LED luminaires are an environmentally friendly light source, consuming 75% less energy than competing systems. With a lifespan of up to 10,000 hours, LED emergency lighting improves system reliability and requires less frequent replacement compared to incandescent light sources. As a result, your durable emergency lighting is virtually maintenance-free, for operational savings and improved efficiency.

Interested in emergency lighting that reduces your carbon footprint and offers improved lighting quality? We can help you implement an LED emergency lighting upgrade that complies with BS 5266-1:2016 standards for design and installation, reducing your bills and maintenance costs.

Make phs Compliance your trusted partner for LED lighting project services

BS 5266 compliance is essential for commercial emergency lighting. That’s why we offer a complete range of testing and installation services, including our LED Lighting Project Service.

Whether you’re ready for an LED upgrade or need an annual testing certificate, why not make phs Compliance your trusted partner? We can design and install standard or LED emergency lighting systems that meet and exceed your legal compliance requirements.