Lightning damage

2/18/2021 (Permalink)

Planning for a storm might feel overwhelming but If you don’t have a plan of your own, get one started today, and check out Emergency Lighting’s stock of smoke alarms, lights, and accessories made to get you through any emergency.

Key Testing Tips for Batteries and Bulbs

When testing your commercial emergency exit signs, there are two main components to check for full operation. Bulbs and batteries. These are the first things to review during scheduled maintenance tests. Fire code requires that all emergency lights and lighted exit signs be inspected at a monthly minimum.

Certain models will have two sets of bulbs that should be checked during these monthly tests. The first set runs on your 110 volt building power, and the second low voltage set comes on with a power failure. These low voltage bulbs are powered directly from the on board reserve battery. As a result, a sign that appears to be working may fail during a power outage because the low voltage bulbs have burned out.

Likewise, many defective batteries maintain just enough charge to light the bulbs for a few seconds after being triggered. If you don’t test reserve batteries for at least thirty seconds, you may find that the lights work each month only to find that they go out when you really need them. By testing the lights for at least thirty seconds you can make sure your batteries don’t just have a misleading surface charge.