Theatre Emergency Lighting

[JohnD]

Our theatre has a central backup system for the emergency lights.

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When the building is occupied, the House Manager turns on the emergency lights with a switch by the burglar alarm panel at the entrance, and they then stay on, even if there is a power cut.

There is a green switch on the power supply that causes the lights to stay on even if they are turned of at the switch by the entrance. It does not appear to be a test switch.

Does anyone know what it is for and why/when it should be used? Sadly the documentation appears to have been mislaid.

Some of the keyholders have been puzzled when the switch by the entrance doesn't turn the lights off when they leave.

 

[EFLImpudence]

There is a green switch on the power supply that causes the lights to stay on even if they are turned of at the switch by the entrance. It does not appear to be a test switch.

Does anyone know what it is for and why/when it should be used?

Do you mean it turns them on using the normal supply or uses a back-up supply?

 

[JohnD]

I don't think it's the test switch which cuts mains supply.

It seems to make the lamps "sustained" (or do I mean "maintained?" I can never remember)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Does anyone know what it is for and why/when it should be used? Sadly the documentation appears to have been mislaid.

[email protected]

 

[ricicle]

What do those labels say above the red and green switches ?

 

[viewer]

Surely it's to prevent accidental turning-off and overrides the"normal" switches.

 

[Spark123]

You may find the switch is wired in parallel for convenience. I take it the link to the switch is wired in pyro or similar?
We have a similar setup albeit a lot more ancient at our local theatre, we have to go to the charger to switch the lights on.
It is a distributed system and the lights run on mains power in normal use, similar to a maintained system, if the mains fail a big clunky contactor changes over to battery power.

 

[RF Lighting]

That sounds about right. I'd imagine the unit comes as a ready to go straight out of the box type unit, and your switch near the front door will have been wired in parallell with the on board switch just to save you having to go the the central battery unit every time you want the lights on.

We also have an very ancient version of this in our local council run theatre. If I remember I'll bob in over the weekend and get a couple of photos of it.

 

[333rocky333]

have done smaller ones in pubs in the 80's, the lights are 110 volt and not normally lit ,presumebly to prolong batterys and lamp life, but whilst premises is occupied the green switch should be activated and the signs etc become lit, usually installed to conform with the music and dance licence at the time, nowadays though exit signs tend to be lit 24 hours,have also seen a parralel switch by the bar to save going to the unit in the celler.
The green light is usually an illuminated switch and ive replaced the filament lamps in them a few times in the past.

with the green switch in either position either on or off, power failure to the main power unit should automatically put out 110 volts to illuminate all the light fittings.
The red switch usually simulates power failure i recall.

The old licensing specified the lamps to be lit whilst occupied as there was no facility to sense localised power failure and often you got this, but the panel power was not lost so no back up lighting.
more common before the self contained 240 volt lights become popular.
This system is usually identified easily by no neon indicators on the fittings .
similar systems are used in bingo halls though the lights are not generally lit whilst open so the system is virtually useless unless theres a phase failure to the charger panel