🌿 Emergency (escape) lighting — illuminance on the escape route and in the open area

Environment PN-EN 1838

Overview

The previous edition was PN-EN 1838:2013-11.

Emergency lighting is lighting provided for use when the supply of the normal lighting fails; it is supplied from an independent source. It comprises emergency escape lighting (escape route lighting, open area — anti-panic — lighting, high risk task area lighting), safety signs and — in the edition of 2024 — lighting of a place of temporary stay and standby lighting. The standard EN 1838 lays down the photometric requirements for emergency lighting systems installed in buildings, including adaptive escape route lighting systems, in places accessible to the public or to workers; it is read together with EN 50172 (emergency escape lighting systems). In Poland escape lighting is a fire protection device within the meaning of the regulation of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 7 June 2010.

The edition EN 1838:2013 (in Poland PN-EN 1838:2013-11 — according to the PKN cards an English version of 29-11-2013 and a Polish version of 10-12-2020) made more precise the points of particular importance on the escape route (exit doors, stairs, changes of level and of direction, intersections of corridors, final exits, first aid points and firefighting equipment — at them 5 lx in the vertical plane, equipment and places of refuge for disabled persons). EN 1838:2024 (PN-EN 1838:2025-05) replaced the edition of 2013: the requirements for the escape route were extended to its whole width, requirements were added for toilets, changing rooms, swimming pools, switchgear rooms and technical rooms, and annex B describes measurements of luminance and of illuminance on site (methods A–D, requirements for the instruments, the initial and the five-yearly verification). The regulation on the technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location, in its last consolidated text (Dz.U. 2022 poz. 1225 [Journal of Laws 2022, item 1225], annex 1, item 42 — to § 181(7)), invoked the edition PN-EN 1838:2005; in the legal acts database of the Sejm (ELI, read on 23.09.2026) this regulation has the status "deemed repealed" with the date 21 September 2026. The regulation of the Minister of the Interior and Administration requires fire protection devices to be inspected according to the Polish Standards (§ 3(2)), without indicating an edition. Whether the new provisions invoke any edition of PN-EN 1838 — WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED.

Method principle

The method consists in measuring the illuminance (and the luminance of the signs) produced solely by the emergency luminaires after the supply of the normal lighting has been disconnected, on the reference plane — the floor of the escape route or of the open area (the publications of the manufacturers give a measurement 2 cm above the floor, only the direct light from the emergency luminaires). The result is compared with the requirements of the standard: on an escape route of a width of up to 2 m the horizontal illuminance along the centre line not less than 1 lx, and in the central band covering at least half of the width not less than 0.5 lx (wider routes are divided into bands of 2 m or treated as open areas); in the open area at least 0.5 lx on the unoccupied field with the exclusion of a peripheral band of 0.5 m; the ratio of the minimum to the maximum illuminance not less than 1:40; the colour rendering index Ra ≥ 40; 50 % of the required illuminance within 5 s and 100 % within 60 s; the duration of operation at least 1 h. In a high risk task area — at least 10 % of the maintained illuminance required for the activity, not less than 15 lx, uniformity ≥ 0.1, the full illuminance permanently or within 0.5 s. Safety signs: the luminance of each coloured part ≥ 2 cd/m², the ratio of the luminances within a colour ≤ 10:1. The edition of 2024 requires 1 lx over the whole width of the escape route.

Applications

• Acceptance of emergency lighting installations in public buildings, workplaces, commercial premises, hospitals, schools, hotels
• Periodic inspections of fire protection devices — measurements for the fire safety instructions and for inspections by the State Fire Service
• Five-yearly verification and verification after modernisation in accordance with annex B of EN 1838:2024
• Lighting of high risk task areas: halls with machines in motion, laboratories with hazardous substances, control rooms
• Checking of the visibility and of the luminance of the escape signs and of the lighting of firefighting equipment and of first aid points

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 1838:2025-05

Title (PL)

Zastosowania oświetlenia — Oświetlenie awaryjne budynków

Title (EN)

Lighting applications — Emergency lighting for buildings

Step-by-step procedure

1. Preparation

   Establish on the plan the escape routes, the open areas, the high risk task areas and the points of particular importance (exit doors, stairs, changes of level and of direction, intersections, final exits, first aid kits, firefighting equipment, manual call points, the fire alarm control panel, places for disabled persons). Check the luxmeter and the luminance meter.

2. Conditions of the test

   Carry out the measurements in the emergency mode of operation (failure of the supply of the normal lighting), taking into account solely the direct light of the emergency luminaires — so the publications of the manufacturers state; the detailed conditions and the methods A–D are laid down in annex B of the standard. Measure the time in which the emergency lighting attains 50 % (≤ 5 s) and 100 % (≤ 60 s) of the required illuminance.

3. Escape route

   Measure the horizontal illuminance on the floor along the centre line of the route and in the central band (at least half of the width); divide routes wider than 2 m into bands of 2 m. Record the values in a grid with the spacing given in the record sheet (annex B). Check Emin ≥ 1 lx on the axis (2024: over the whole width), ≥ 0.5 lx in the central band and the ratio Emin : Emax ≥ 1:40.

4. Open area and high risk task area

   In the open area measure on the floor over the whole unoccupied field omitting the peripheral band of 0.5 m: Emin ≥ 0.5 lx, uniformity ≥ 1:40. In the high risk task area measure on the reference plane of the task: ≥ 10 % of the maintained illuminance and ≥ 15 lx, uniformity ≥ 0.1, the full illuminance permanently or within 0.5 s.

5. Points of particular importance and signs

   Measure the vertical illuminance at the first aid kits, the firefighting equipment, the manual call points and the fire alarm control panel (≥ 5 lx). Measure the luminance of the coloured parts of the safety signs (≥ 2 cd/m², ratio ≤ 10:1) and check the viewing distance of the signs (l = z·h; z = 100 for externally illuminated signs, 200 for internally illuminated ones).

6. Duration of operation and record sheet

   Confirm that the required values are maintained for at least 1 h (in a high risk task area — for the duration of the hazard established by the employer). In the record sheet give the spacing of the grid, the instrument and the uncertainty of measurement, the values at the points and the assessment of conformity; the results are attached to the documentation of the fire protection devices.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Agree the disconnection of the normal lighting with the manager — for the time of the test limit the movement of persons and secure the stairs and the changes of level
• Work in the switchgear is carried out by a person with electrical qualifications; the person measuring does not interfere with the installation
• In high risk task areas carry out the test with the hazardous processes stopped

Frequently asked questions