Emergency Lighting Generator vs. Battery Backup

[KaptainKiser]

I am an electrical engineer designing an event space attached to a hotel. The main hotel has an electrical service with a life safety generator serving all egress lighting throughout the building. The event space is attached to the main building but will have a separate electrical service from the main hotel.

For egress lighting, am I required to use the existing life safety system serving the main hotel, or can I use battery backup fixtures instead?

My logic is....if you serve the event space lighting with the life safety circuit from the main hotel, and the service to the event space goes out while the service to the main hotel is active, the generator will not run and thus there will be no emergency lighting in the event space. Is my logic sound?

Thanks in advance!

 

[roger]

First of all terminology is a must and Life Safety System (Branch) is only in article 517. You are looking at an article 700 issue. You can use battery back up lights, see 700.12(F)

 

[hillbilly1]

Most likely you would need a second transferswitch and panel connected to the event space service. A second breaker and control wiring from the generator would also be needed. This is on the assumption the existing transferswitch switches the neutral and is a separately derived system. If not, it would require changing.

 

[charlie b]

I don't know of a code article that prohibits using the same emergency (i.e., article 700) generator to serve two separate buildings. But I also don't like the design. I would prefer installing a central inverter in the event space to serve its egress lights. It may be more expensive than battery-operated light fixtures, but it is simpler and involves less future maintenance. It would also resolve the issue you described without needing the complex solution that hillbilly1 described.