Calculator · Emergency lighting · BS 5266-1
Emergency lighting test due date calculator
Choose the test and enter the date it was last done. You get the date the next one is due. Emergency lighting has a monthly function test, an annual full-duration test and a five-yearly photometric check.
Result
Choose the date of the last test to see the result.
Working
next test = last test + 1 month · + 12 months · + 5 years
- Monthly: a short function test of every luminaire and exit sign.
- Annual: a full-duration test, where the luminaires run on battery for their rated duration.
- Every five years: a photometric check, measuring the light levels again.
- Rated duration: 1 hour where the building is emptied at once and not used again until the batteries have recharged. 3 hours where people cannot leave at once, or where the building is used again before the batteries recharge.
Source: BS 5266-1:2025 (photometric checks at intervals not exceeding five years, as quoted by NICEIC) and BS EN 50172:2024 clause 7.4.5, as set out by NICEIC and emergency lighting makers. The 1 hour and 3 hour rule is from industry guides, and no clause number was found.
Record every test in the log book. To check a reading, use the lux checker.
For guidance only. Always check against the current edition of the standard and the manufacturer's data.
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