Using battery backed up lights in a domestic setting?

[Northman]

I'm considering updating some of the light fittings in the house, including a 6' fluorescent tube in a utility room, and a triple R60 halogen in a hallway over a staircase. In the last couple of years we've had quite a few powercuts in the area, and I wondered if these positions (especially above the staircase) would be good places for the type of battery backed up emergency lighting units that you find in many non-domestic buildings? Are there any issues with using this type of equipment in a domestic setting? I imagine a certain amount of 'intelligence' is needed in the device since the light would often not be on, but would need to be activated when power is lost?

The idea is simply to provide some light in key areas, rather than the usual plunge into darkness in the event of a powercut. Any thoughts?

 

[sparkwright]

The main thing to consider is if you have a permanent live, as well as a switched live, at your existing light fittings.

If you don't, you will have to do some rewiring.

 

[JohnW2]

I'm considering updating some of the light fittings in the house, including a 6' fluorescent tube in a utility room,....

Are you aware of:

In the UK, the phased changes will occur between 1st September 2023 and 1st February 2024. After these dates, all T5, T8 and compact fluorescent lamps will be banned from sale,

Kind Regards, John

 

[Northman]

Are you aware of:


Kind Regards, John

Indeed I am, but the fact that one authority or other has banned them from sale has no impact on said Tube's desire to fufil its purpose in life and to quite possibly outlive the utility room! I'm not in the position where it has shrugged off its mortal coil, just considering whether it meets the decorative demands of the lady of the house. Should it decide to give up the ghost, I will of course have a more urgent need to replace it. As things stand I can take a more leisurely approach to its ultimate destiny.

 

[Northman]

The main thing to consider is if you have a permanent live, as well as a switched live, at your existing light fittings.

If you don't, you will have to do some rewiring.

Thank you, that aspect is useful to know. I shall do some preliminary investigation.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Why not simply fit LED emergency lights?

 

[ericmark]

Last house used an 18 watt fluorescent top of stairs with the control gear in an adaptable box, this house a rechargeable torch top of stairs, both cases they would not really last overnight, so what you want is for the light to last long enough so if sleeping at time of power loss they will still be working when you wake, or it will be light, where commercial it is just to get out of the building, and although they are tested for longer, in real terms an hour is enough to see to leave the building.

The smaller the light the longer with a set sized battery it will last, so the touch works well, clearly a

triple R60 halogen in a hallway over a staircase

would not last long.

So looking at small LED.

 

[JohnW2]

Indeed I am, but the fact that one authority or other has banned them from sale has no impact on said Tube's desire to fufil its purpose in life and to quite possibly outlive the utility room! I'm not in the position where it has shrugged off its mortal coil, just considering whether it meets the decorative demands of the lady of the house.

Oh, apologies, then. When you wrote:

.... updating some of the light fittings in the house, including a 6' fluorescent tube ...

I though you meant that you were considering replacing the current fitting and/or tube with new ones, rather than continuing to use the ones you already had (until the tube dies).

Kind Regards, John

 

[oldbutnotdead]

In a house you probably don't want the standard commercial non-maintained emergency lights (so power fail day or night would light up the fittings). More useful (but more difficult) would be battery backup on those key lights (staircase especially) so you could switch them on during a power cut/fail scenario and they would still work.
So you'd need permanent live to your battery- backed fitting (to keep the batteries charged) and the switch wiring would have to be a loop out from the fitting (rather than just interrupting supply to the fitting).