maintained exit light

[nmilner]

Hi,

My local village hall was paid a visit from Building Regs as we are currently having an extension built. He was not impressed to see that the emergency exit lights in the hall were non maintained (only on when power goes out) and we should have maintained lights. Can you convert a non-maintained light to maintained or do you have to scrap the light and buy new ones which are maintained?

I have opened one of them up and the incoming mains goes into 3 terminals of a 4 way connector block. I think the live is in the terminal labelled 'switch' and the 4th terminal which currently has nothing connected is labelled something like 'ch'. I forgot to write down what was on the connector block exactly so apologies for appearing stupid.

Any help gratefully received.

nick

 

[ban-all-sheds]

He was not impressed to see that the emergency exit lights in the hall were non maintained (only on when power goes out) and we should have maintained lights.

Did he say why? If he's right, then you start to wonder why they make non-maintained ones - who would be allowed to use them?

Can you convert a non-maintained light to maintained or do you have to scrap the light and buy new ones which are maintained?

If they are different inside, then I'd be surprised if it was easy to convert.

However...

I have opened one of them up and the incoming mains goes into 3 terminals of a 4 way connector block. I think the live is in the terminal labelled 'switch' and the 4th terminal which currently has nothing connected is labelled something like 'ch'. I forgot to write down what was on the connector block exactly so apologies for appearing stupid.

I would not be surprised to find that some manufacturers made 1 product, and simply did not tell you how to connect permanent and switched live to make them operate in a maintained way. The saving of R&D and manufacturing costs stemming from having just one product, plus a premium price on the "maintained" version could make economic sense.

But #1: how much would new lights cost anyway?

But #2: as this is a public space you should not be fiddling with the internals of electrical appliances as this will invalidate their certifications and thus (probably) make them illegal to fit.

But #3: as this is a public space shouldn't you be using a qualified electrician for insurance reasons?

 

[brumtrician]

But #3: as this is a public space shouldn't you be using a qualified electrician for insurance reasons?[/quote]

Who says hes not qualified ?? Don't think part PEE applies either

 

[ban-all-sheds]

But #3: as this is a public space shouldn't you be using a qualified electrician for insurance reasons?

Who says hes not qualified ??

Read some of his other posts....

Don't think part PEE applies either

No, but PLI does....

 

[delmel]

Hi,

My local village hall was paid a visit from Building Regs as we are currently having an extension built. He was not impressed to see that the emergency exit lights in the hall were non maintained (only on when power goes out) and we should have maintained lights. Can you convert a non-maintained light to maintained or do you have to scrap the light and buy new ones which are maintained?

I have opened one of them up and the incoming mains goes into 3 terminals of a 4 way connector block. I think the live is in the terminal labelled 'switch' and the 4th terminal which currently has nothing connected is labelled something like 'ch'. I forgot to write down what was on the connector block exactly so apologies for appearing stupid.

Any help gratefully received.

nick

It is the fire officer that needs to be satisfied as he is the only one that will sign the certification, both types are used but non maint versions much more popular as they are cheaper and conform, you only need maintaned in certain areas
Ask 10 fire officers and you will get 10 different requirements

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It is the fire officer that needs to be satisfied as he is the only one that will sign the certification, both types are used but non maint versions much more popular as they are cheaper and conform, you only need maintaned in certain areas.

I'm very curious - what do maintained emergency lights give you that non-maintained + ordinary lights don't?

 

[mapj1]

A maintained light gives you a light that stays on if your power is cut off by fire. But, if you can see the exit in the dark, because of street lighting through the windows, or lights fed from another circuit, and unlikely to go out at the same time, some fire authorities will accept this as 'adequate' Others don't, and when the old fire officer retires his young and enthusiastic replacement often has more vigorous ideas of what is needed.

Usually all that is in the fitting is a battery, a light and a power supply, and 2 diodes that mean that when the power supply voltage falls below the battery, the battery takes over.
In the old days it was 6V bike light style bulbs and 3 cell lead acid battery. Nowadays it'll be NiCd or NiMh batteries and a low wattage strip light fed from an inverter.
The power supply 'trickle charges' the batteries through a resistor across the diode while mains is on, and the batteries hold the light up for long enough to evacuate the building if power is cut.
Unless you know in detail what you are doing, its probably easier to buy the minimum number of maintained fittings to keep him happy, do the rest in those luminous signs that afterglow when the supply fails, rather than attempt a giblets transplant - however, no harm in chatting to the makers.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

But when was the last time you saw or heard of a village hall going up in flames (unless of course, there was a very very heated sermon !!) ?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I've just twigged that Nick's inspector was talking about the emergency exit signs, not the emergency lighting, so ignore my question.

There may well be a requirement for them to be illuminated at all times when the building is in use - it would be reasonable to cater for a small fire creating smoke but not knocking out the supply.

Follow the regulations, Nick, get proper maintained signs fitted by a qualified electrician.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

But when was the last time you saw or heard of a village hall going up in flames (unless of course, there was a very very heated sermon !!) ?

I've never had, nor personally known anybody who has had, a car crash.

But I still have insurance and I still wear a seatbelt.

 

[mapj1]

I do know of a scout hut that went up in flames (arson, NOT my wiring), I also knew separate 3 suicides (that worried me a bit), and a family of 4 that were killed in a horrendous crash, plus another relative killed on a motorcycle.
But most of the deaths of people I once knew have been from cancers, strokes and heart attacks, so I'm still not that bothered about seatbelts, OK, certainly they are a good idea, but not any guarantee of immortality- as an aside you should visit India or China to see frightening driving, and you wont find a seatbelt in the car, let alone see one being worn. It may be that we in Europe lack the required Karma or sense of fatalism, and so worry ourselves over what we cannot change.
We all go in the end, but perhaps by some freak of different experience I have known your share of accidental deaths.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

Personally I think seatbelts encourage wreckless driving (I'm ok, I've got a seat belt on) but I will apologise for previous post, being flippant, sorry. (head held in shame)
P.S. And I'm bored waiting for t'pub to open !!!!

 

[Diyisfun]

Personally I think seatbelts encourage wreckless driving (I'm ok, I've got a seat belt on) but I will apologise for previous post, being flippant, sorry. (head held in shame)
P.S. And I'm bored waiting for t'pub to open !!!!
__________________
Scoby

But, what do I know ??

Assume you are joking, never heard (or read) such B****ks

 

[mapj1]

Actually, even though its not really something of which to make thoughtless fun, there certainly is a very real effect where people take greater risks because they feel safe - in effect people drive (or any other activity for that matter) at constant percieved risk.

So if there is a hand rail by a deep hole, people lean on it, but if if no hand rail was fitted they would stay back from the abyss. So, adding a handrail that is badly fixed, is actually far more dangerous than none at all, as it encourages people to take a risk.
To that end I am opposed to things like power steering, that do not let you feel the car losing grip until it is too late, and it would not surprise me to find that people who know they have ABS drive either faster or closer together than those without, thus to an extent nullifying the initial safety advantage. As the driver of a car without, it certainly seems so.
In fact to make people act safely, you have to make them realise the potential danger - some drivers I suspect would only calm down if there was a big sharp spike in the steering wheel centre, but I digress slightly.
Similarly, safety interlocks and trips are only good, if they are not relied upon as an alternative to turning things off properly, otherwise they are less than a benefit.
I remember watching a friend dismantling an extractor fan, with it running 'because the safety switch will turn it off when the case is open' Except it didn't - there was no such switch, much to his disbelief, and he was left flailing with the fan whirring away like a demented gyroscope until the cable pulled out of its mountings. I put it down to a sheltered childhood (perhaps his parents never let him hurt himself with knives/matches or whatever, an essential part of my own learning process) and I must admit I was always cautious of his idea of 'safe' after that.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

Assume you are joking, never heard (or read) such B****ks

Actually my friend, deadly (sic) serious