Exit lights: Are they required to have battery backup?

[mtfallsmikey]

Well, I searched, could not find one definitive answer on this, so here goes:

6-story commercial building, built in 2002 under '96 BOCA building code, emergency life safety generator not required at that time, but previous tenant installed 2/750 KVA generators, enough to power the entire building under full load. Most all of the exit lights in the building do not have battery backup installed. We had to transfer to generator power for the annual elevator test, tenants noticed that during the 10 sec. or so time that it took for the transfer to generator power, that the exit lights went out, and indeed, none of them have battery backup, all emergency lighting went out except for the lights that had batteries, in the common areas. All exit lights, and emergency lighting in the building are on dedicated circuits for each floor. There have been 2 tenant buildouts within the last 3 years, and on each, none of the AHJ's required the installation of exit lights with battery backup... Is it a requirement in NEC/NFPA/IBC to have them?

 

[dkidd]

1011.6.3 Power source.
Exit signs shall be illuminated at all times. To ensure continued illumination for a duration of not less than 90 minutes in case of primary power loss, the sign illumination means shall be connected to an emergency power system provided from storage batteries, unit equipment or an on-site generator. The installation of the emergency power system shall be in accordance with Chapter 27.

They don't have to remain on for the 10 second time.

A separate transfer switch would need to be installed for exit and emergency egress lighting.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

1011.6.3 Power source.
Exit signs shall be illuminated at all times. To ensure continued illumination for a duration of not less than 90 minutes in case of primary power loss, the sign illumination means shall be connected to an emergency power system provided from storage batteries, unit equipment or an on-site generator. The installation of the emergency power system shall be in accordance with Chapter 27.

They don't have to remain on for the 10 second time.

A separate transfer switch would need to be installed for exit and emergency egress lighting.

So, when the plans were reviewed/approved by all of the AHJ's, they considered the "standby"generators installed would serve as a designated emergency life safety generator, regardless of when and who installed it?

 

[dkidd]

Maybe. Probably. I don't know.

 

[mgookin]

Well, I searched, could not find one definitive answer on this, so here goes:

6-story commercial building, built in 2002 under '96 BOCA building code, emergency life safety generator not required at that time, but previous tenant installed 2/750 KVA generators, enough to power the entire building under full load. Most all of the exit lights in the building do not have battery backup installed. We had to transfer to generator power for the annual elevator test, tenants noticed that during the 10 sec. or so time that it took for the transfer to generator power, that the exit lights went out, and indeed, none of them have battery backup, all emergency lighting went out except for the lights that had batteries, in the common areas. All exit lights, and emergency lighting in the building are on dedicated circuits for each floor. There have been 2 tenant buildouts within the last 3 years, and on each, none of the AHJ's required the installation of exit lights with battery backup... Is it a requirement in NEC/NFPA/IBC to have them?

You were not pulling permits or doing any construction. There's no code that says when you are on site doing a "transfer to generator power for the annual elevator test" that you have to make modifications to an existing building. If you were remodeling the building the issue could arise.

Most fire departments do (or are required by state law to do) annual inspections. The life safety code which they use (among other codes) has provisions for every occupancy classification for both new and existing occupancies. When someone is building something new, they will use the section for New Business Occupancy. For a remodel or an annual inspection, they will use the section for Existing Business Occupancy.

Back when that building was built, the code allowed non-illuminated exit signs under two conditions:
1. The building is only intended to be occupied during daylight hours.
2. Emergency lights (means of egress illumination) provide sufficient illumination.
In either of the above 2 cases, a simple plastic placard was sufficient.

For clarification on what's required today, I suggest you contact the local fire marshal, or in the absence of same, the state fire marshal.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

You were not pulling permits or doing any construction. There's no code that says when you are on site doing a "transfer to generator power for the annual elevator test" that you have to make modifications to an existing building. If you were remodeling the building the issue could arise.

Most fire departments do (or are required by state law to do) annual inspections. The life safety code which they use (among other codes) has provisions for every occupancy classification for both new and existing occupancies. When someone is building something new, they will use the section for New Business Occupancy. For a remodel or an annual inspection, they will use the section for Existing Business Occupancy.

Back when that building was built, the code allowed non-illuminated exit signs under two conditions:
1. The building is only intended to be occupied during daylight hours.
2. Emergency lights (means of egress illumination) provide sufficient illumination.
In either of the above 2 cases, a simple plastic placard was sufficient.

For clarification on what's required today, I suggest you contact the local fire marshal, or in the absence of same, the state fire marshal.

Thank you for the answer. Both of the tenant buildouts were fully permitted. The main question is, during the 10 sec. transfer to generator power, all building power was off, nothing was on. 1011.6 says exit lights should work at ALL times, and even with an emergency generator, what would/could happen if the generators did not start, or there is a failure of the transfer switch? None of the codes addresses that possibility.

 

[mgookin]

Thank you for the answer. Both of the tenant buildouts were fully permitted. The main question is, during the 10 sec. transfer to generator power, all building power was off, nothing was on. 1011.6 says exit lights should work at ALL times, and even with an emergency generator, what would/could happen if the generators did not start, or there is a failure of the transfer switch? None of the codes addresses that possibility.

You should not be applying 110.6 to an existing building today if you are not pulling a permit today.

If you want to be as diligent as you can, find out what code and edition applied last time a permit was issued, and find out what those requirements were AND whether the job required existing non-conforming aspects of the building to be brought up to that code. Then you can go back to each time a permit was issued and do the same thing. Then you can go back to when the building was built and see what those requirements were.

But instead of all that work, a simple call to the fire marshal's office asking "Is a 10 second delay allowed to illuminate exit signs in an Existing Business Occupancy?"
I'm assuming your building is Business Occupancy.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

That is correct, commercial office space.

 

[JFletcher]

Last hotel I worked at here in VA, they were reopening after being shut down for a few years. They did no new work, however the fire marshall required all exit signs be equipped with battery backup OR photoluminescent before they would be granted a CO.

Even if the signs dont require BBU, if they arent LED, they really ought to be replaced to reduced maintenance and power costs.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Last hotel I worked at here in VA, they were reopening after being shut down for a few years. They did no new work, however the fire marshall required all exit signs be equipped with battery backup OR photoluminescensbefore they would be granted a CO.

Even if the signs dont require BBU, if they arent LED, they really ought to be replaced to reduced maintenance and power costs.

Good points. If we were to do a total gut out, start from scratch, I could see it being required, AFAIC, I would require all emergency lighting to have battery backup, but I'm just your run-of-the-mill key-jangling building engineer, who is a licensed sparky.

 

[JFletcher]

Good points. If we were to do a total gut out, start from scratch, I could see it being required...

Thank you. Quite a few of the e-lights failed to keep illumination for the 90 minutes, so they too were all replaced. The only problem we ran into was that many of the old 2-15W incandescent exit signs were pulling double duty as j-boxes. The new ones didnt have the capacity for the wiring, so proper junction boxes were installed as well.

 

[kwired]

Last hotel I worked at here in VA, they were reopening after being shut down for a few years. They did no new work, however the fire marshall required all exit signs be equipped with battery backup OR photoluminescent before they would be granted a CO.

Even if the signs dont require BBU, if they arent LED, they really ought to be replaced to reduced maintenance and power costs.

I've run into situations that electrically lighted signs were not required.

I have recently replaced old units with LED units because they cost less then replacing batteries in the old units was or even less cost then LED retrofit kits were.

 

[david]

Well, I searched, could not find one definitive answer on this, so here goes:

6-story commercial building, built in 2002 under '96 BOCA building code, emergency life safety generator not required at that time, but previous tenant installed 2/750 KVA generators, enough to power the entire building under full load.

Most all of the exit lights in the building do not have battery backup installed.


We had to transfer to generator power for the annual elevator test, tenants noticed that during the 10 sec. or so time that it took for the transfer to generator power, that the exit lights went out, and indeed, none of them have battery backup, all emergency lighting went out except for the lights that had batteries, in the common areas. All exit lights, and emergency lighting in the building are on dedicated circuits for each floor. There have been 2 tenant buildouts within the last 3 years, and on each, none of the AHJ's required the installation of exit lights with battery backup... Is it a requirement in NEC/NFPA/IBC to have them?

The exit signs are not required to be illuminating they are required to be illuminated. In other words if an emergency egress light is positioned to illuminate the exit sign there is no requirement that the sign itself be the source of illumination for the exit sign

 

[cowboyjwc]

Exit signs aren't even required to be lit until the occupancy reaches 50, but I'm surprised how many get installed that aren't required.