Emergency Lighting Testing: 6-Monthly and Annual Requirements

Emergency lighting testing: the 6-monthly and annual regime

Emergency lighting and exit signs in a commercial building are tested to AS/NZS 2293.2: a 90-minute discharge test every 6 months to prove the batteries hold, plus an annual inspection of every fitting, with the results kept in a logbook on site. It's a building-code requirement in most commercial premises, it's what the fire safety certifier checks, and it's the compliance item that fails most often because nobody notices a dead battery until the test.

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Why it's tested

Emergency lighting exists for the 10 minutes after the power fails during a fire, when people are finding the exits in smoke. The fittings sit unused for months, running on a battery that's slowly losing capacity. The only way to know a fitting will still be lit at minute 90 is to cut its supply and time it. That's the discharge test, and it's why the standard doesn't accept a visual check on its own.

The 6-monthly discharge test

The supply to the emergency lighting circuit is switched off (via the test switch on the board or the fitting) and every emergency light and exit sign has to remain lit for 90 minutes. Each fitting is checked at the start and at the end. Any fitting that goes dark early fails, and the usual fix is a new battery, or a new fitting where the LED module or the charger has failed too. The results go in the logbook the same day.

The annual inspection

Once a year, on top of the discharge test, each fitting is inspected and cleaned: the diffuser, the lamp or LED, the charge indicator, the mounting, the exit sign pictogram for legibility, and the test switch itself. Fittings are also checked against the plan to catch any that were removed during a fit-out and never replaced. That's more common than you'd think.

Kris Electrical Services electrician on an electric scissor lift installing external lighting on a commercial warehouse wall — Working at height off an electric scissor lift on a warehouse facade.

The logbook

AS/NZS 2293.2 requires a record of every test and repair, kept on site. Fire safety certifiers ask for it, and so does the insurer after a fire. A good logbook lists every fitting by location and number, the date of each test, the result, what was replaced, and when the next test is due. Ours is a printed record left with the building manager plus a digital copy we keep, so the next-due date never depends on someone remembering.

What fails most

Batteries. A sealed battery in a warm ceiling space lasts 3 to 5 years. Most failures are a battery that holds 20 to 40 minutes rather than 90.
Fittings removed during refits. New ceiling, new tenant, exit sign gone. It's picked up at the annual plan check.
Charge faults. The indicator LED is off, so the battery never charged. It's a dead fitting in a fire.
Non-maintained fittings switched off at the board because someone thought the circuit was spare.

Doing it with the RCD test

The 6-monthly emergency lighting test lines up with the 6-monthly RCD push-button test, so most of our commercial clients have both done on the same visit under a maintenance agreement, with the annual trip-time test and the annual lighting inspection folded into the same schedule. 2 visits a year, 1 logbook, no missed dates. Our emergency lighting testing service covers the whole regime.

Need this done rather than read about? See emergency lighting testing or request a free quote.

Questions we get on this

Does the building have to be empty for a discharge test?

No. The general lighting stays on; only the emergency lighting circuit is switched to battery. Staff usually don't notice. We schedule it for a quiet period all the same.

Who's responsible for emergency lighting testing, the landlord or the tenant?

It depends on the lease. Base-building emergency lighting in common areas is usually the landlord's; fittings within the tenancy are often the tenant's. Check the lease, and if it's silent, ask. It's a question best settled before a certifier asks.

How long does a test take?

The discharge itself is 90 minutes. A small tenancy with a dozen fittings is about 2 hours on site including the record. A warehouse or a multi-level building is a half day. The annual inspection adds time per fitting.