How To Test Your Business Lighting System
Knowing how to test your commercial lighting system can one day help you if ever needed. In this simple guide we will help explain simple ways to test your lighting system. lighting systems can help light up warehouses, make it easier for customers to browse, and also for emergency purposes such as exit signs and emergency signs. As such, it’s important to understand how you can test your commercial lighting system yourself to ensure that everything is working as expected.
How to test your lighting control panel?
One of the easiest ways to test your exterior commercial lighting system is to first locate the lighting timer or control panel. The owner of the building should know where this is, or it should be in a location that contains other utility functions. If you’re unable to find this, you may need to contact the owner of the building or look at any plans of the commercial space you’re in.
Once located, you’ll typically find a photocell that is designed to alter the flow of electricity based on the amount of light it senses. By covering this photocell with a piece of tape or something that can block light, it enables the photocell which sends voltage to the lighting fixture. These are usually located at the light fixture or somewhere on the roof of the building. If there is no change, then it’s possible that the photocell has been damaged and needs to be replaced. You may need to replace the entire lighting fixture depending on your circumstances.
If you’re unsure how to carry this out, we suggest contacting a professional commercial electrician to find your lighting control panel or lighting timer and also test your commercial lighting system.
How to test your Emergency Lighting system?
Next, you’ll want to learn how to test your exit signs and other emergency lighting systems.
Most emergency lighting and exit signs will contain a small battery. The light is connected to the building’s electrical supply which provides it with a small but constant charge. This enables the exit sign or emergency lighting to turn on even in the event that the building’s power goes out. In most cases, these lights are designed to work for just 30 minutes on battery power.
Emergency lights and exit lights typically have a small “push to test” button on the casing. This enables you to test the light bulbs and the battery. You usually hold the button for around 30 seconds to initiate the test. This will work fine if you have devices that are within reach, but it’s difficult to test signs that are difficult to reach.
Examine the lights as you enter test mode. They should be at full brightness for the full 30 seconds. However, if it starts to flicker or dim, then there’s a chance that the bulb is dying or the battery isn’t working correctly. For exit signs, it’s important to check that the full sign is visible and lighted properly.
Alternatively, if you’re unable to reach certain emergency lights or want to test the entire system, then you can locate your circuit breaker or fuse and shut power to the lights. This should enable the emergency lights and exit signs. Make sure you observe all of the emergency lights and exit lights in the building. They should run for at least 30 minutes. This is a test that must be performed every year as part of a safety check.
Make sure everyone else in the building is aware if you’re performing this check, and ensure that electronic devices such as computers are turned off so that no data loss occurs.
In some cases, an emergency generator might be responsible for powering your emergency lighting and exit signs. In this case, you may need to contact a professional electrician to help test your emergency lighting and verify if there are any issues with your lighting fixtures. This can be time-consuming and difficult to perform on your own, hence why we suggest seeking professional assistance.
A commercial lighting system can be a lot of work to test, especially if your premises is large and contains many different lighting fixtures at various heights that are inaccessible without the right safety equipment. As such, we suggest a professional lighting audit to help you test your emergency lighting system and this will determine weather you would need various lightning upgrades for your business.
