Where Do We Need Exit Signs & Emergency Lights?
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- In today’s Electrician U episode, we're diving deep into the commercial realm to explore the crucial elements of exit signs and emergency lights. These often-overlooked fixtures are vital for safety in commercial settings, and understanding their importance, installation, and maintenance is key for any skilled electrician. Join us as we dissect the technicalities and regulations that govern these lifesaving devices.
00:00 - Intro
00:12 - Means of Egress
03:33 - Illumination
05:28 - NDR
06:27 - Combo
Exit signs are essential in commercial buildings, ensuring a safe Means of Egress as detailed in the NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code. We break down Section 7.9, highlighting the critical role of illuminated exit signs, especially during power outages, ensuring people can find their way out safely. We delve into the correct placement and orientation of these signs, emphasizing the importance of the arrow pointing towards the actual egress route. Whether mounted on the ceiling or the wall, correct installation is key.
We also open up an exit sign to examine its inner workings - from the circuit board and lights to the wiring and battery. It’s a fascinating look at what keeps these signs operational in emergencies.
Our discussion then shifts to emergency lights and their vital role in illuminating commercial hallways during power outages. We touch on NFPA 101 Section 7.8, which mandates the Illumination of Means of Egress, ensuring safe navigation in the dark.
A crucial aspect of maintenance is testing each exit sign and safety light. This ensures they're wired correctly and ready for emergencies. As electricians, the responsibility is immense - people's lives and safety depend on our meticulous work.
We also spotlight the innovative NDR RAZOR FR - a fire-rated recessed downlight. This product is a game-changer for maintaining fire safety standards in buildings with multiple layers of drywall. A special thanks to NDR Lighting for their sponsorship and innovation in this field.
Finally, we examine combo exit sign and emergency lighting units, ideal for doorways, explaining their installation and wiring intricacies. It's crucial that all components inside are correctly connected for these units to function effectively.
Throughout the video, we emphasize the vital role electricians play in ensuring these safety features are properly installed and maintained. It's not just about technical skills; it's about safeguarding lives.
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#electrician #electrical #electricity #electricianu #exitsigns #emergencylights #safetyfirst #electricalsafety #commerciallighting #firecodecompliance #ndrlighting #fireprotection #poweroutagepreparation
Good stuff Justin! I tell the helpers to make sure to connect the correct wires inside the emergency light also. A lot of lights have a 120 or 277 volt tap inside. I've had several apprentices put 277 to the 120 volt tap and fry the board inside because they didn't pay attention to the voltage sticker on the wire.
I did just that myself recently, replacing combo lights that I'd assumed were on a 120v feed like the rest of them. After a couple minutes of it being powered up seemingly just fine, while I was finishing the mounting, the little stepdown transformer in it went bang and let the smoke out. Don't forget to meter the feed!
@@carpespasmNot sure about all exit signs as I've never personally had to install one, but many newer (within the last 5 to 10 years) LED drivers and electronic ballasts as well as some COB style LED lamps used to retrofit existing HID luminaries are universal voltage 120 ~ 277V rated meaning they will also operate on 208 and 240V as well, which can come in handy in legacy buildings with 240V ungrounded or corner grounded delta systems. As a journeyman I often refer to these universal voltage items as "apprentice-proof" But yeah, kidding aside, always get in the habit of verifying with a meter instead of relying on the colors of the conductors or making assumptions based upon what voltage the other fixtures in the area are running on.
I always looked for the tap of the 120v or 277v for the light 😍
Can we get more fire life safety stuff? I watched your channel while i was going to trade tech, now i work in fire alarm. Love hearing different explainations on this stuff. It really broadens my view.
As someone who's been doing FA and a little bit of sprinker and exit lighting for several years this channel is great to see what an electrician's view on things affect our work and verse-visa.
Great video. 1/2 of our projects have the egress light locations marked. The other 30% at least have a egress path that we know we want to light up the best we can and include an exit sign near any doorway. The other 20% we "cowboy" it and let the Fire Marshall come in and test it with his light meter...
Good info. Thank you.
Excellent information
Try a vid on what happens if you break neutrals instead of hots. Had a few houses where I found all the blacks are tied in a junction box and the whites were feeding switch and load. Had a ground fault and 5 breakers popped. It took a price of my screw driver too.
😂😂😂 seems that switched neutrals were actually pretty common before WWII, where knob and tube was popular. Whether it was intentional or code compliant at the time I don't know. Seen it a few times while rewiring 1910s - 1930s homes.
Great video, thanks! What % of emergency light batteries do you think are dead from age? 70%? I don't understand why they don't make the battery hot swappable from the outside
Any ideas why the international (running man) egress signs are not yet allowed in life safety codes? Also, red vs. green?
Momentum and habit mostly I suspect. In the US at least I think most people expect to see EXIT, it's so common it's even a plot device in The Page Master. As for red vs green I usually stick to what the base building already has unless there's a request for one or the other. Some say red is easier to see further through smoke, others say green is easier to be sure you're going toward a "good" thing.
The more important thing is to keep the batteries in good shape and test them. Most exit and emergency light batteries are shot after about 5 years. Per code they're supposed to last 90 minutes under battery power. Most buildings I come across that haven't been kept up with and checked are doing good to have half the lights last 5 minutes without power.
If you do a follow-up to this video, please include remote heads, such as where one of the emergency lights is tied into the interior exit sign battery, but is mounted outside of the structure to highlight a stairwell, for example.
Hey, please do a video on emergency circuitry. Is it a separate circuit is it jumped of the lighting circuit?
Thanks 🙏
Can remember reading maybe 40 years ago some body was proposing that Exit luminares in hotel hallways be installed 6 to 12" off the floor. Reason being that still would be visible in a hallway that had several feet of smoke at ceiling level. Did see both high & low mounted Exit luminares in a large ambulatory three floor building.
Hay Dustin I have a question about this topic, I was working at a church school that was being Converted to a church daycare, any was we were told by are master on the the previous job that we had to tie them into the light power for that room, on this job we ran a dedicated circuit to power for that floor. Where do I find out more information on the rules for elight and exit sign on how to powe and other Nuances to this topic.
Stairwell pressurization fans are also required for fire safety to maintain positive air pressure in the stairwell during a fire to keep smoke from entering the stairwell.
And part of testing them is using an anemometer (air pressure guage) to make sure they remain pressurized even with a door in the stairwell open annually.
wire nuts inside the exit fixture....is that ok? ive heard both yes n no.....any thoughts.
Can you do an SLD for residential with emergency generator and kitchen stove install
Can these be mounted directly to a cinder block wall without a metal box? And have emt go straight into it?
I had some old ones in a building I do maintenance work at that the test button WOULD light the unit, however when we did an actual power off test(killed the building's main breaker) they did not light. Never tried to figure out the issue as these were old incandescent units and we replaced them with LED.
The batteries only last 5-10 years usually, less if you do the full 90 minute test per-code. Also power resistors in some exit light designs can cook themselves to death over the years and present that way when tested.
If these lights are the rather bulky units from 1970 or earlier, they use lead / acid batteries, which are now shot. Testing with the power on just powers the light through the battery charger and gives a false sense of security.
@ElectricianU can you make a video explaining ampacity chart 310. 15 (B) (16) ? Like when should I use the 60 degree column or the 75 or 90 degree column and why? Thanks
In CA they call them bug eyes
flori-DUH too
Same in georgia. Frog eyes 😅
Hi Justin,
Can I keep the existing aluminum wire add recessed light to the old house with copper wires ?
Make your question make sense
It's interesting but I would have liked to know more about how to connect these lights. I suppose they should be installed on the same circuit as the room lights, but is that a code requirement?
I've heard conflicting answers and I think it depends on which edition of NFPA101 is adopted in any jurisdiction? I've had some swear it should be on lighting circuits, with the thinking that if the lighting circuit loses power they should come on. I've also heard they should be on a dedicated circuit, so regardless of power to other circuits they remain fed, and are less intrusive to occupants to do 90min function testing on. I don't think it's checked in some areas well though, as I've found them run from any-ol-circuit when reno work happens and they're the only thing keeping an inspection from getting a CO.
That's a lot of info in a short period of time for emergency and exit lighting, well done. Additional content: remote heads, remote head capable exit signs, 90 minute battery operation minimum.
Also, there are two concepts that are confusing to me regarding illumination principles sometimes; creating a path of light with emergency lights vs illuminating an area. I've seen emergency lighting used in places like a shop floor to direct people to the exits by creating a path of light and I've seen buildings that try to illuminate the entire area of a large space with emergency lights. I haven't delved into planning exit lighting for projects yet. Can you go into what NFPA 101 says about this?
I'm a helper at a fire alarm company. We test this all the time. Nfpa probably has a rule, but as a rule of thumb that inspectors use in los Angeles is "if you can see your toes, it's ok". Though the primary light source can't be the exit sign itself, even though they are bright AF.
@@nateristowa6899 I've also been quoted the "you need to see your feet as you move to the exit" rule commonly from the most stringent fire marhsals in the Atlanta area, so that sounds likely what code has to say about it, though I'm not as well versed in 101.
The directional requirements of the exit (being 90 degrees off the wall) was probably why they didn't use a combo at 8:45 since you can't really side mount those - I suppose they could have top mounted it to the hallway soffit, but you are still limiting the functionality of the floodlights by pointing one into the wall.
Question about testing and remediation if the unit fails the test. Is it better to replace the entire unit, or just the battery?
As a general rule I'd replace the unit. Combo units are kinda pricey, but exit signs and frog-eyes are pretty cheap by themselves. It's not uncommon for manufacturers to make near-identical lights from the exterior, but use different batteries inside from one year model to the next, and many buildings are a hodgepodge of different lights.
There's nothing wrong with replacing just the batteries if the rest of the unit is in good shape, and you can take the time to verify what batteries you'll need, but after ~15 years the plastic bodied exit signs tend to get fairly brittle in the plastic, and the circuit boards on all of them seem to have some resistor here or there that's cooked itself after about that long. I've been sent to replace just batteries several times and ended up having to replace the whole unit anyway because the body of the light crumbled in my hands as i opened it, or they were sure the lights were all the same and they were, but a unit here and there was lit, but the AC-loss side of the circuit didn't work.
My work didna remodel of one of the floors of our buildings and after they had the exit signs from the drop ceiling. Then two weeks later there was all mounted exit light 8" down on the wall. Turns out failed fire inspection because the drop ceiling sign was too high. And it cost more to move the existing the. To just add a second sign on the wall below. So might be a reason why there is a light and exit sign on your building you found instead of a combo.
Thank you.
Also it's sometimes more expensive to buy one combo vs one exit and one bugeye.
I think that the combo EXIT sign you showed at 7:43 would not be appropriate in the building in the area you pointed out at 8:43, though there might be combos better suited for that location. The scene I imagine at 8:43 is that you're facing the top of a T, with no egress to the left or right. I would not want to be directly facing an EXIT sign because the egress is actually behind me. This arrangement does a good job of showing the exit direction to anyone in either side of the T, while providing good illumination down the ends of the T. If there's a combo sign of the arrangement of lights and signage shown here, great!
Wild, never seen one with an arrow.
Question how can I wirelessly connect my body to the ground???
I swear bro when ever you make videos all of a sudden I have to do it
Hello! i was wondering if you could make a video on fire alarm systems!? (resi/commerical) i feel like you could explain it very well in a real world setting.
Content suggestion.. NEC vs RVIA (NFPA 1192).. Seems like 2 completely different worlds.
I actually collect exit signs and I have to say that I never even really took time to look up why we need to have them.
@electricianu can you do a video on Calculating Parallel offsets
One of the exit signs at my job used to be connected to the light switch for the garage. 😅
Do more commercial electrical videos. We aren't all resi guys.
The real answer is wherever the engineer says they will be....
Whatever the AHJ says it will be
@@christhomas5937 or fire chief/marshall
If it’s not on the drawing, sorry about your luck. I don’t do free work. Get a better architect and engineer then. You’re not paying me to design, you’re paying me to install. Thinking for people with fancy titles that didn’t include it on a drawing costs extra money. Not my problem.
@@Esnara2085😢sorry you done get enough credit for other than what the architect gets blamed for 😂 we appreciate you
-sparky
The NFPA needs to be the SOLE AHJ for the appearance of exit signs so that we can finally have "running man" style exit signs in the US.
You should do more life safety vids. Building Maintenance workers often lack this info. Also what about the emergency ballest that power a bulb or two in the fixture itself during a power outage? Also , generators that power egress lights only?
I think that the exit signs used to blink when power failure with fire.
Retired and not sure of the latest & greatest local codes ( Duke's of hazard state does not have a state license ) but for years our big city said being that our electrical Ultility has such a great high reliability rate of providing power that if a company has a dual service with automatic tie breaker you did not need emergency lightning. Was just great when we lost power in the large slaughter house that I worked in. Had to feel my way out of a two block long totally dark chill box with thousands of hanging meat hooks some at eye level. Last company that I worked for loved POS red bodine ballast that had a garbage battery that never lasted more then 6 to 8 years and only provided a dim illumination out of one 4' lamp. Mike Holt recently had a picture of an emergency light that was feed by illegal cord & male plug on his great code question & illustration of the day. Guess Stevie Wonder proof read that.
Question. I have an exit light that turns off when the lights go out. Why?
it's either because the battery is dead or it's old enough to not have a battery, which was the code prior to the 1960s.
Did he mention how long the backup was supposed to last?
It's ok, we all laughed 🔥 😂
Can you do a video on Emergency lighting circuits? Like when and where the emergency lighting should be on it's own circuit? And when and where the emergency lighting can be on a normal circuit?
Remember to only use what the State/County/Local Fire Marshall has approved for Exit signs and Emergency lights for your area. Sometimes the EXIT sign is red or its green depending on your jurisdiction. I know New York City has approved certain equipment for use in their jurisdiction and will fail you if you use a non-approved New York City device.
as far as i understand, since the emclosures are plastic, the signs ans the lights do not have to be grounded.
thanks for the video.
Can we get a video how to use a megometer?
Oh my goodness - they need to point the lights down to light the area instead of blinding people as they are trying to find the exit. LED lights are getting out of control as they are so bright and people are blasted with the light. This is important for older people as they are far more sensitive to bright lights due to things like cataracts. Something to consider as you are planning this stuff.
My journeyman told me that I could NOT have an interior box ( Carlin box or metal 4 square box) in the same stud bay as an exterior box due to the fire rating on the wall. Is that a legit thing?
It can be. But that's more of a structural engineer thing or a MEP thing. Not specifically an electrician thing.
We don't arbitrarily decide what fire rating we are meeting or exceeding. An engineer does.
Heyy Dustin, am a new sub luv ur content
I thinking of going to school for electrician
Is it hard
How many course and is it full time?
Please reply
Thx
Depends. Some states require school. Some don't. An apprenticeship should produce a well rounded electrician regardless of the path they choose. If that involves going to trade school; cool, if not. Also cool. Find out your states requirements and choose what is best for you dude.
@@ElectricianU thx Dustin, is it hard for you when you just started?
How did you becomes such a professional at electrician
Did you went to school?
Could you please do a video on fire alarm systems !
Looked like they used separate light and exit sign because they faced different directions. I thought your point would be the exit sign will block the emergency light.
I had several bug eyes that the fire marshal said failed but when I threw the main switch they worked....go figure
The exit sign you used to demonstrate did not have a battery lol
We call them Bug eye lights.
I'm surprised (and a little disappointed) that the emergency lights aren't referred to as "chameleon eyes" because they can point in different directions independently. But that's just my sense of humor. ;-)
Not 3 AA batteries. They're probably packed NiCd cells. Much higher capacity than your everyday AA batteries.
This is a fire safety codes not electrical... Just install it as defined by the fire inspectors/fire marshallb etc. Your job as an electricians are NOT to design signage. Usually a local fire alarm company will do all the proper installs. Again this is NOT an electriciams issue. Some areas require all fire sysyems be attached to a generator system if you habe one as well.
Testing also means to jave the emergency lighring stay on for a ceetain lenfth of time, not just a momentary push of a test button.
Wound tight much? It never hurts to be aware of relevant code to your own trade where it bumps against other trades. I can't count the number of exit lights I've checked where the electrician put it in place, but never knew or cared to plug the battery in and it didn't get caught in the inspection.
Is this required by law❓❓
Good practice is to test them once a month.
This is not a concern for an electrician...."why we need". Wrong profession. Architect perhaps but not for a typical electrician to worry about. Install it where the engineer tells you to install it. Install it correctly and move on. It's not in the electrician's scope to decide where these things are needed.
If there is one calling these things out yes.
If you get plans follow the plans. If you don't have plans. Try to get plans. If you can't get plans. Now it's time to start reading while making some calls.
Not every electrician knows why or how or what book to go look at to find this information out.