Exit signs and emergency lighting are required in all public spaces, businesses, airplanes, boats and ships. Exit signs are used to designate the closest escape route in case of fire or emergency and require a properly maintained exit sign battery to illuminate the path of egress during a power outage. Emergency lighting fixtures allow for back lighting during emergencies or power outages and also require a properly operating back-up emergency light battery. The majority of governmental codes require exit signs be illuminated at all times.
Exit Sign and Emergency Lighting Legal Requriements
Both exit sign batteries and emergency lighting batteries are sporadically inspected by government officials to insure the fixtures are operating properly to code. Large fines can be levied on individuals or companies with weak or dead batteries in their emergency fixtures. Regular maintenance of an Exits sign or emergency lighting is required. The back up battery must be changed routinely to insure the power source is not depleted to the point it can not operate correctly during an emergency situation or power outage. A properly maintained exit sign battery or emergency lighting battery is designed to allow a minimum of 90 minutes of back up illumination in a power failure.
Testing Your Current Exit Sign or Emergency Lighting Battery
The majority of exit signs today offer two sources of illumination. One source is powered by the buildings power supply while a second source is reserved for illumination through use of the back up battery in the exit fixture during emergencies or power failure. You can test your emergency lighting batteries in your emergency light fixture or the exit sign batteries in your exit sign by depressing the test button on the fixture to see if it lights up. The reserve illumination source in the exit sign will light up with the power on if the back up battery is fully charged. The test buttons can usually be found on the front or side of the emergency fixture in plain view.
Replacing Your Exit Sign Battery
The exit sign battery/ batteries can be found in a compartment or compartments just behind the EXIT face plate. If there are multiple exit light batteries or emergency light batteries in the emergency fixture, it is better to replace all of the batteries at the same time. The exit sign face plate typically snaps on and off, some exit signs may require removing screws from the face plate with a screwdriver to get to the back up batteries. Emergency light fixture batteries can be accessed by getting a ladder and removing the lens or lens’s on the fixture. Follow the manufactures instructions if necessary when changing out an exit battery or emergency lighting battery. Always follow procedures outlined in the national and local electric codes when maintaining electrical circuits.
Sourcing Your Replacement Exit Sign Battery
If your exit sign has a battery from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) then the replacement cost to buy the same again is likely to be high but there are many alternatives that meet or exceed the specifications of the OEM.
Whatever the battery is, BatteryGuy can offer you substantial savings. To make it easy we’ve made it possible for you to search out your replacement in a number of ways:
- With over 20,000 cross references you can find your replacement using the part number of the battery you have just removed.
- By dimensions, voltage and Amperage if you can’t see any part number
To search online visit our how to find your replacement battery page or simply call us Toll Free on 800-572-1975.
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