“Egress” is a term meant to describe exiting / getting out of a place. You may hear the term “path of egress” or “means of egress” to describe the actual hallway that directs people to safety during power outages, for instance. (This is in contrast to the word “ingress,” which describes getting inside, e.g. electronics that safeguard against water getting into them are said to have ingress protection and use “IP” ratings to indicate how water resistant they are, etc.)
However, emergency / egress lighting solutions are those that illuminate paths of egress and/or indicate to building occupants what the fastest exit route is in which direction when there’s an outage or emergency. This can take the form of Emergency LED lighting solutions, LED Exit signs (with or without chevrons) or combination EXIT and Emergency lighting to provide a path of egress during outages.
Fixtures that have LED lighting heads on top of an otherwise standard EXIT sign.
Different areas of the country have different specific code requirements for Exit Emergency egress lighting solutions, and especially New York and Chicago that have their own egress lighting standards. (Fulham carries several most popular LED Exit egress lighting units which meet the specifications for use in these markets.)
Additionally, Fulham carries a wide variety of everyday EXIT signs and Emergency egress lighting fixtures. This could mean common wall-mount varieties made of white or black plastic – with red or green lettering illuminated by LEDs. It could also mean more durable options (vandal- resistant) or LED edge-lit varieties that create a clear or floating appearance to the word “EXIT” itself.
However, beyond mere EXIT signs and standard Emergency egress lighting units, Fulham’s innovations with Exit Emergency egress lighting are many fold and award-winning. They have helped Fulham build a reputation around the Emergency (EM) category as a company specialization, only less synonymous with the Fulham brand next to its famous WorkHorse brand.
It all started with the HotSpot 1 LED Emergency System that adds LED emergency lighting capability to existing luminaires by installing a supplemental battery pack and LED array within the fixture cavity. The emergency system operates (in emergency conditions) completely independently of the luminaire’s normal light source, ensuring compatibility with many types of luminaires or all technology types.
A carry on to the HotSpot 1 was the HotSpot 2 LED System innovation. The HotSpot2 emergency lighting solution drives existing constant current LED modules (otherwise normally used by the fixture in normal operation) during power outages. A complete HS2 system is comprised of an emergency driver, emergency battery, and output wire harness with a wide range of lumen outputs and achievable run times.
Fulham also has the Lighting Industry’s Smallest 4W Emergency constant power LED Driver. It measures only 5.34” x 1.69” x 1.01” allowing for a lot of versatility for OEM manufacturers to fit it into slim, elegant, architectural luminaires – where other emergency drivers simply cannot fit.
Additionally, Fulham has developed versatile Programmable LED Drivers & Emergency Systems / egress lighting solutions. For instance, the revolutionary HotSpot Plus LED Driver & Emergency System combines a dimmable, programmable LED driver, emergency LED driver, and replaceable backup battery into one compact egress lighting unit. Under normal, non-emergency conditions, this all-in-1 solution functions as a constant current driver. During power outages, the integrated battery automatically kicks in, providing reliable emergency lighting systems for occupants to safely evacuate a space. Programmable HotSpot Plus benefits include smaller size (to bring emergency LED capability to smaller luminaires) and easier installation.
As a completely new kind of egress lighting item unique to Fulham, we are offering the HotSpot ‘EZ Exit’ LED Emergency system as a new-fangled, spec grade, architectural alternative to bugeye fixtures that saves installation time / money and hides in the ceiling. The EZ Exit product is a linear extrusion in 2’ or 4’ lengths, and it can be used to directly replace a T-bar in a drop ceiling, completely disappearing into the ceiling. Or, its brightness can influence a reduction in the use of as many emergency fixtures, saving installation time and money when directly mounted to high warehouse ceilings. The Fulham HotSpot EZ Exit is the best of all worlds – inconspicuous, quick to install and money-saving.
Last but certainly not least, Fulham’s most recent egress lighting solution innovation includes a 25 Wall Micro-Inverter that works with any fixture(s), i.e. any technology type, of ≤150W for 25W of Constant Emergency Power for 90 minutes. Not just LED, but for any technology type. For clarity, It could operate, for instance, three non-dimmable 8W recessed cans at full brightness in EM mode (8W x 3 = 24 Watts <25W). Or, with dimmable fixtures, the 25 Watts will be divided up across the connected fixtures equally at a lesser Wattage than than full brightness in normal operations, e.g. if two dimmable 70 Watt UFO Highbays are connected to the 25W micro-inverter, each will operate at 12.5 Watts for 90 mins in emergency mode. This is a real money-saver and convenient.
All of these types of emergency egress lighting products and solutions, and many, many more, can be found throughout the Fulham product pages online. After all, what else would you come to expect from the Number 1 Independent Innovator of Globally-Mandated Emergency Lighting Solutions in the world?
Now, let’s take a step back to again be sure you’ve been tracking with us above. What exactly is emergency egress? It’s a means of egress / exit access for life safety purposes that, when there is a power failure, usually involves the use of emergency lighting systems to direct building occupants to safety. There are life safety code or building code lighting requirements for adequate means of egress illumination. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) publishes the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code® which, according to their website “is the most widely used source for strategies to protect people based on building construction, protection, and occupancy features that minimize the effects of fire and related hazards.” They continue by describing the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code as being “unique in the field,” and that “it [the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code] is the only document that covers life safety in both new and existing structures.” You may look up the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code or any of their other codes at this address: https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/
Emergency egress lighting requirements are present beyond the U.S., however, and must comply with the respective international building code of any region that Fulham emergency egress lighting systems are exported and used.
Emergency lighting systems are used beyond providing emergency illumination indoors. Outdoor rated EXIT signs or emergency fixtures can also provide a means of egress or path of egress in exterior lighting emergency illumination. These means of egress have their own egress lighting requirements as recommended in order to conform with building code.
