NEC 700 and Life safety code

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Isaiah

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Baton Rouge
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Electrical Inspector
Does egress “emergency” lighting that IS NOT considered essential for safety to human life require its own raceway system separate from all other wiring?


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Ignoring healthcare and other special cases, any emergency egress lighting is essential for safety to human life and would be required to meet the requirements of Article 700. Any lighting that is not emergency egress but wants a backup source would be optional standby lighting and would require a separate transfer switch, inverter, or other source than the emergency branch.
 
d0nut said:
Ignoring healthcare and other special cases, any emergency egress lighting is essential for safety to human life and would be required to meet the requirements of Article 700. Any lighting that is not emergency egress but wants a backup source would be optional standby lighting and would require a separate transfer switch, inverter, or other source than the emergency branch.
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Many Thanks d0nut... what about exit lights above a doorway for egress. Is this considered emergency lighting or standby lighting?
Would it require a transfer switch scenario or can they be fed from a normal 120VAC power source since they have internal battery backups?


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Those lights would be emergency lights as well.

If I was feeding the lights from an emergency ATS, I would not provide them with batteries to reduce the maintenance and testing requirements. If they are provided with batteries, you could feed them off of the emergency branch or the normal branch. If you fed them from the normal branch, the emergency system for that particular light would begin at the battery.
 
d0nut said:
Those lights would be emergency lights as well.

If I was feeding the lights from an emergency ATS, I would not provide them with batteries to reduce the maintenance and testing requirements. If they are provided with batteries, you could feed them off of the emergency branch or the normal branch. If you fed them from the normal branch, the emergency system for that particular light would begin at the battery.
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Great! So let’s say they used a normal source (i.e. typical 120VAC lighting panel) to feed battery-backed exit lights mounted above the doors - would this wiring have to be in a separate conduit system or could it be routed with other lighting circuits?


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Isaiah said:
Great! So let’s say they used a normal source (i.e. typical 120VAC lighting panel) to feed battery-backed exit lights mounted above the doors - would this wiring have to be in a separate conduit system or could it be routed with other lighting circuits?


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The normal power to the exit light is not an emergency circuit.
 
When there is a battery source at the fixture, the 120V circuit is NOT a 700 circuit. The only time the 120V circuit is a 700 circuit, is if it is coming from a 700 source like a generator or central inverter and there is no local battery.

The battery is the 700 source in this application you describe.
 
ron said:
When there is a battery source at the fixture, the 120V circuit is NOT a 700 circuit. The only time the 120V circuit is a 700 circuit, is if it is coming from a 700 source like a generator or central inverter and there is no local battery.

The battery is the 700 source in this application you describe.
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Thanks to all for this very valuable information


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ron said:
When there is a battery source at the fixture, the 120V circuit is NOT a 700 circuit. The only time the 120V circuit is a 700 circuit, is if it is coming from a 700 source like a generator or central inverter and there is no local battery.

The battery is the 700 source in this application you describe.
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Ron, it appears the only circuitry in our buildings that truly qualifies for “emergency” is is the Exit signage. There is NO emergency generator, inverters, transfer switches etc avail for the interior lighting such as pendant /ceiling mounted LEDs. Therefore I assume the general lighting would be considered as OPTIONAL STANDBY lighting? is this an accurate assessment?
Many thanks in advance
Isaiah


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Isaiah said:
Ron, it appears the only circuitry in our buildings that truly qualifies for “emergency” is is the Exit signage. There is NO emergency generator, inverters, transfer switches etc avail for the interior lighting such as pendant /ceiling mounted LEDs. Therefore I assume the general lighting would be considered as OPTIONAL STANDBY lighting? is this an accurate assessment?
Many thanks in advance
Isaiah


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The question is confusing. General interior lighting would not be considered optional standby (Article 702 or 700 or 701). It has no designation like that, just lighting.

The only kind of lighting that has a designation like you are implying is emergency egress and exit lighting found in the building code. It can be powered locally by battery packs or centrally by an article 700 source. 700 circuitry has to be completely isolated from other non-700 circuitry (separate raceway) if it isn't the locally installed battery back at the fixture.
 
ron said:
The question is confusing. General interior lighting would not be considered optional standby (Article 702 or 700 or 701). It has no designation like that, just lighting.

The only kind of lighting that has a designation like you are implying is emergency egress and exit lighting found in the building code. It can be powered locally by battery packs or centrally by an article 700 source. 700 circuitry has to be completely isolated from other non-700 circuitry (separate raceway) if it isn't the locally installed battery back at the fixture.
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Ok thanks for the clarification!


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ron said:
The question is confusing. General interior lighting would not be considered optional standby (Article 702 or 700 or 701). It has no designation like that, just lighting.

The only kind of lighting that has a designation like you are implying is emergency egress and exit lighting found in the building code. It can be powered locally by battery packs or centrally by an article 700 source. 700 circuitry has to be completely isolated from other non-700 circuitry (separate raceway) if it isn't the locally installed battery back at the fixture.
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When you say building code do you mean the life safety code NFPA 101?


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ron said:
The question is confusing. General interior lighting would not be considered optional standby (Article 702 or 700 or 701). It has no designation like that, just lighting.

The only kind of lighting that has a designation like you are implying is emergency egress and exit lighting found in the building code. It can be powered locally by battery packs or centrally by an article 700 source. 700 circuitry has to be completely isolated from other non-700 circuitry (separate raceway) if it isn't the locally installed battery back at the fixture.
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The buildings here are heavy industrial, non dwelling single story structures with usually no more than 2-3 operators during each shift. I don’t think this is a truly ‘emergency’ scenario, i.e. essential for safety of human life.
Can the exit signs be called ‘Optional Standby’ instead of Emergency?
There are no Emergency generators or transfer switches on site. Most of the buildings are fairly small but a couple of them are large (150-200 feet in length).
I doubt the exit signs alone will provide sufficient foot candles for safe egress out of the larger buildings. I’m quite sure project management will not provide generators to support a true emergency lighting system.


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Isaiah said:
When you say building code do you mean the life safety code NFPA 101?


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Does your area or state have a building code such as IBC / UBC? The NEC would not specify what the lighting would be, however it would spell out how it is installed under it's classification.
 
roger said:
Does your area or state have a building code such as IBC / UBC? The NEC would not specify what the lighting would be, however it would spell out how it is installed under it's classification.
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I will find out. I’m currently in California


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Isaiah said:
Ron, it appears the only circuitry in our buildings that truly qualifies for “emergency” is is the Exit signage. There is NO emergency generator, inverters, transfer switches etc avail for the interior lighting such as pendant /ceiling mounted LEDs. Therefore I assume the general lighting would be considered as OPTIONAL STANDBY lighting? is this an accurate assessment?
Many thanks in advance
Isaiah


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I would not go so far as to assume the egress "emergency" lighting as "Optional". Generally these are a requirement of building codes.
There are conditions that the simple exit and and associated egress light (typical flood type) also would not be enough. Warehouses, large stores, etc that might require additional lighting for pathway egress maneuvering. There are troughers that also provide battery backup that are often used in such situations. Building code usually will include minimum egress lighting requirements in the form of "minimum candle power" at pathway. If you don't have these codes try contacting the building codes AHJ for their requirements in your municipality.
 
Fred B said:
I would not go so far as to assume the egress "emergency" lighting as "Optional". Generally these are a requirement of building codes.
There are conditions that the simple exit and and associated egress light (typical flood type) also would not be enough. Warehouses, large stores, etc that might require additional lighting for pathway egress maneuvering. There are troughers that also provide battery backup that are often used in such situations. Building code usually will include minimum egress lighting requirements in the form of "minimum candle power" at pathway. If you don't have these codes try contacting the building codes AHJ for their requirements in your municipality.
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Nice feedback. NFPA 101 also sheds light on min foot candles for egress


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