Emergency Lighting Testing & Installation
Annual 3-hour tests from £150 + VAT, with a certificate. Repairs and new emergency lighting to BS 5266-1.
- Free survey, fixed written quote
- SSAIB approved for intruder alarms
- 20+ years in London
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Name and number are all we need to arrange a call back and a free survey.
- SSAIB approved for intruder alarmsFor intruder alarms
- BS 5839 fire alarmsCertificated every visit
- Since 2001Family-run in SW17
- 20+ five-starGoogle reviews
What it costs
Servicing
- Fire alarm from £180 + VAT a visit
- Emergency lighting £150 + VAT
New systems
- Fire alarm from £1,200 + VAT
- Smoke alarms from £230 + VAT
A free site survey comes first, then a fixed written quotation. Larger buildings are priced per device.
How we work
Emergency lighting has to come on by itself when the power fails and stay on long enough for everyone to get out safely. We test, repair and install emergency lighting across London for offices, shops, blocks of flats, HMOs and commercial buildings, to BS 5266-1:2025 and BS EN 50172, and issue the certificate your fire risk assessor, insurer or licensing officer will ask to see.
What's included
- Annual full-duration test, usually 3 hours, with a certificate
- Monthly function tests, or a logbook set up for you to do them
- Failed batteries, fittings and exit signs replaced
- New and replacement emergency lighting designed to BS 5266-1:2025
- Self-test and addressable emergency lighting supplied and installed
- Escape route and open area light levels checked against BS EN 1838
- Booked on the same visit as your fire alarm service
- Offices, shops, blocks of flats, HMOs, schools and warehouses
What you get from working with us
A Test That Proves Something
A quick flick of the test key shows a fitting lights up. It does not show a battery that gives up after twenty minutes. The annual test runs every fitting for its full rated duration, usually three hours, and we check each one is still lit at the end. You get a certificate and a list of anything that failed.
Paperwork Your Assessor Will Accept
Your fire risk assessor, insurer and, for HMOs, the council will ask for the emergency lighting certificate and the monthly test records. We complete the logbook on every visit and leave it ready for the monthly checks in between.
Failures Put Right
Dead batteries, dim or flickering LEDs, missing exit sign legends and fittings painted over or removed during decoration are the usual findings. Batteries and fittings can often be replaced on the same visit, and anything else comes back to you as a fixed price before we do it.
One Contractor for Compliance
Emergency lighting, the fire alarm, AOV smoke ventilation and extinguishers can all sit on one schedule and one visit, so you deal with one contractor and one set of certificates instead of four.
What the Standards Ask For
Every month, a function test
Each fitting is switched to its battery, with the test key or the self-test facility, and someone walks the building to check every light and every exit sign comes on. It takes a few minutes and is recorded in the logbook. We set this up at handover, or carry it out for you on a contract.
Every year, a full-duration test
Every fitting runs on battery for its full rated duration, usually three hours, and is checked still lit at the end. Because the batteries then need hours to recharge, we test when the building is quiet, and in sleeping premises such as HMOs and blocks we test in stages so a floor is never left without cover.
Every five years, light levels
BS 5266-1:2025 adds a check of the installed light levels at least every five years, against BS EN 1838: at least 1 lux across escape routes and 0.5 lux in open areas. Fittings dim as they age and rooms get rearranged, so a system that passed when new can fall short years later.
Where emergency lighting is needed
At every exit door and final exit, every change of direction and level, every stair, near each fire alarm call point and fire extinguisher, in plant and switch rooms, lift cars, larger and accessible toilets, kitchens, open areas over 60 square metres, and with exit signs wherever the way out cannot be seen directly. Your fire risk assessment sets out what your building needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does emergency lighting need testing?
There are two tests. A short function test every month, switching each fitting to its battery to check every light and exit sign comes on, and a full rated-duration test once a year, usually three hours, carried out by a competent person. Both are recorded in the logbook, as BS EN 50172 and BS 5266-1 set out.
How much does an emergency lighting test cost in London?
An annual emergency lighting test is from £150 + VAT, with a certificate. Larger buildings are priced after a free survey, and any repairs are quoted at a fixed price before the work is done.
Who is responsible for emergency lighting?
The responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In a workplace that is the employer or whoever controls the premises; in a block of flats or an HMO it is usually the freeholder, managing agent or landlord for the common parts. They need to make sure the lighting is tested and the records are kept.
How long must emergency lights stay on?
Three hours in almost every building. One hour is only accepted where the premises are evacuated straight away when the lighting fails and are not reoccupied until the batteries have recharged, which is rare.
What is the difference between maintained and non-maintained emergency lighting?
Non-maintained fittings only light when the mains fails. They are the usual choice in offices, shops and blocks of flats. Maintained fittings are lit all the time and stay lit on battery, and are needed where the public gather in the dark, such as bars, cinemas and clubs.
Do HMOs need emergency lighting?
Many licensed HMOs need it on the common escape route. Whether yours does depends on the layout, the number of storeys, whether the route has borrowed light, the fire risk assessment and the council's licence conditions. We can check it on a free survey.
We have self-test fittings. Do they still need a visit?
Self-test fittings run their own monthly and annual tests and show the result on an indicator light, which saves a lot of time. Someone still needs to read and record the results, deal with the failures and check the installation as a whole, so they stay on the annual schedule.
Arrange a free site survey
Tell us about the building and we will call you back to book a free, no-obligation survey. You get a fixed written quote after every visit.
- Free survey, fixed written quote
- SSAIB approved for intruder alarms
- 20+ years in London
Phone answered 24/7