Emergency lighting is the last layer of safety that allows people to evacuate the building during a fire. It makes the escape route visible in smoke and during power failure. BYKHY Article 84lists emergency lighting and guidance systems together with fire detection systems and subjects them to periodic inspection, testing, and maintenance.
We provide periodic inspection, duration testing, battery replacement, automatic test system maintenance, and completion services for missing/unsuitable fixtures in emergency lighting and emergency exit guidance luminaires.
What Is Included in Maintenance?
Function and duration testing
- Verification that luminaires enter emergency mode when mains power is cut (short function test)
- Duration testing: measurement of whether luminaires continue to burn for the specified duration
- Monitoring that batteries can fully charge after testing
- In centralized battery systems, inspection of battery pack, charging circuit, and distribution panel
Short function test shows that the luminaire enters emergency mode; however, the real question is not "is it burning", "for how long is it burning". An aged battery burns brightly in the first seconds and extinguishes within minutes. Therefore, duration testing cannot be skipped.
Scope and placement
- Lighting of escape routes, stairwells, corridor turns, and level changes
- Guidance luminaires indicating a genuinely usable exit pointing to
- Adequacy of luminaire size according to viewing distance; front not obstructed by panels, signs, or shelves
- Coverage of critical points such as fire stairwell, generator room, panel room, lift entrance
- Changed escape route following alterations reflected in the luminaires
Luminaire and records
- Diffuser contamination, yellowing, and crack inspection
- LED/lamp operation and light output assessed visually
- Reading test records in self-testing luminaires and replacement of devices indicating faults
- Recording test results by luminaire
Automatic Test Systems
In buildings with high numbers of luminaires, manual testing of each device is not practical. Self-testing luminaires automatically perform function and duration tests and report faults through indicators on the device or via central software. In these systems, maintenance shifts from performing tests to reading reports and replacing faulty devices — however, an automatic test system whose reports are not regularly read is equivalent to no testing at all.
Legal Basis for This Maintenance
Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings (BYKHY) maintenance of fire safety systems is defined not as an optional improvement, but as an obligation incumbent upon the building owner and administrator defines it as follows:
- Article 84 — Emergency lighting, signage, and fire detection and alarm systems shall be subject to periodic inspection, testing, and maintenance as required by the system specified in the applicable standards, under the responsibility of the building owner and administrator or the building official to whom they have delegated responsibilities in writing.
- Article 100 — Fire suppression systems shall be subject to periodic inspection, testing, and maintenance as required by the system specified in the applicable standards, under the responsibility of the building owner, administrator, or the building official to whom they have delegated responsibilities in writing is a requirementA zone monitoring module connects an entire conventional detector line to the addressable loop. Critical areas are renewed with addressable devices while secondary zones continue to operate with their existing wiring. This provides significant cost advantage in capacity upgrade and renovation projects.
The common aspect of both articles is this: the regulation does not prescribe the period itself, but refers it to the standard the system is subject to. In other words, maintenance frequency is set not by the regulation but by the standard the system was designed to (TS EN 12845 for sprinklers, the TS EN 54 series for detection, TS ISO 14520 for gas systems) and by the manufacturer's own manual. A specification that says "the regulation requires this frequency" is built on the wrong basis.
The Ministry's regulation guide explicitly requires retention of these records: information, documents, and records related to inspections, maintenance, and tests must be kept in a secure place by the building owner, administrator, or responsible party for submission to relevant authorities in any emergency. Maintenance being performed is not enough; it must be documented that it was performed.
Related Pages
- Fire detection system maintenance — within the scope of the same matter
- Fire detection products catalog
- Emergency lighting and guidance guide — which building requires it, how many lux, sign placement
- Passive fire protection measures — the compartmentation side forming the escape route
To Set Up Your Maintenance Program
One contract, a solution for everything: we provide end-to-end maintenance to fire detection, gas suppression, sprinkler, hydrant, and pump units in their entirety; if you wish, maintenance of camera (CCTV) systems can also be added to the same contract.
If you do not have the brand, age, and last maintenance record of the existing system on hand, that is not a problem; the first step is anyway inventory and current condition assessment. Setting up an annual program without seeing what is there in the field means selling maintenance for a system that does not exist.
You can examine your system brand's product equivalents in our product catalog ; for requirements specific to your facility's use class, you can visit our sectoral solutions pages.
For survey and quotation you can or send your plan through our write or directly You can call call the number. Survey is free within Ankara; for facilities throughout Turkey, the visit plan is established jointly before contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is emergency lighting maintenance mandatory?
Yes. BYKHY Article 84 classifies emergency lighting and wayfinding systems together with fire detection and alarm systems and mandates that they be subjected to periodic inspection, testing, and maintenance as specified in relevant standards under the responsibility of the building owner and manager.
If the fixtures are lit, is the system sound?
No. Being lit only indicates that the fixture has entered emergency mode. What matters is whether it can maintain adequate illumination level for the intended duration. An aging battery-powered fixture may appear normal in the first seconds but fails within minutes; only duration testing reveals this.
When should batteries be replaced?
Based on test results, not calendar dates. Fixtures that fail to complete the intended duration in the duration test have their batteries replaced. In practice, batteries have significantly shorter service life than fixture bodies, making duration testing the most decisive maintenance step.
We renovated the space; should we also review emergency lighting?
Yes. Renovation changes escape routes; a wayfinding fixture indicating a closed door directs people to a dead end. After any partition, door, or floor plan changes, fixture placement and directional arrows must be reviewed.
Who can perform emergency lighting and wayfinding maintenance?
A team with electrical expertise is needed—capable of measuring fixture batteries, performing mains failure tests, and measuring escape route illumination levels. ASPEK performs maintenance with its own staff; dead battery replacement and completion of missing wayfinding fixtures are finished in the same visit. Our Ankara-based team works on a single-source basis for multi-branch facilities nationwide.
Can the maintenance company also perform the periodic inspection?
Maintenance including monthly short-function testing and annual full-duration discharge testing, plus deficiency correction, are handled by us. If independent inspection is required, a Type A inspection body cannot remedy deficiencies due to impartiality requirements; we correct dim fixtures, incorrect directional arrows, or insufficient illumination levels identified in the report.
What document is provided after maintenance?
A maintenance report is prepared with fixture address list, discharge duration measurements, replaced batteries, and escape route illumination checks. This record is used in fire department inspection, occupational safety inspection, and evacuation drill files; we establish the same filing system for your facilities in Ankara and other provinces.
What happens if I do not perform maintenance?
Emergency lighting lives by battery and the battery dies silently; while mains power is present, fixtures appear lit so no one notices. In an actual evacuation when power fails, the corridor remains dark—in buildings we test, we find a significant portion of fixtures cannot meet their rated duration. BYKHY places the obligation for illuminating escape routes on the building responsible party.
Do insurers or inspections require these records?
Fire department and occupational safety inspections request these records most frequently; in fire damage and injury claims, and in legal proceedings, it is also common practice to request evacuation equipment records from insurers and courts. Policy and inspection scope vary; a facility maintaining monthly test records is prepared for both scenarios.