BATTERIES FOR EMERGENCY LIGHT

All emergency lights and lighted emergency exit signs use a battery for powering the lamps. In order to insure continuous readiness and operation of the emergency light, these batteries are rechargeable. Circuitry within the emergency light both charges the battery and insures that it stays charged.

The most common reason for exit sign or emergency light failure is an exhausted battery. Unfortunately, backup batteries do not work forever. Rechargeable batteries, after a while, lose their abilities to fully charge. To keep your signs and lights in compliance with the 90 minute backup required, a replacement battery is necessary. The Exit Light Company carries a wide variety of replacement NiCad batteries, 12 volt sealed lead acid batteries, 4 volt sealed lead acid batteries and 6 volt sealed lead acid batteries.

TYPES OF BATTERIES USED IN EMERGENCY LIGHTS

There are two types of batteries that are used for emergency lights; they are:

• Sealed lead-acid batteries (the same type used in cars)

• Nickel-cadmium batteries

Sealed lead-acid batteries are the oldest rechargeable technology available. They are called lead-acid because they contain lead alloy plates, immersed in acid. The acid breaks down the plates, producing the charged electrons which are electricity. More recently, technology of lead-acid batteries has improved, allowing for fully sealed units, that don’t require the addition of water to maintain the acid level.

EMERGENCY LIGHT BATTERIES:

• Power lamp heads during an emergency

• Must last for at least 90 minutes

• Affordable and easy to replace

• Available in different voltages and amperages

• Tested monthly and annually per OSHA regulations

Battery test buttons come standard on all emergency lights. By pressing the test button, the emergency light unit switches from AC power to emergency battery power, allowing you to clearly see the remaining charge.

REPLACING YOUR EMERGENCY LIGHT BATTERIES - STEP BY STEP

STEP 1 - Take a screwdriver and open up the housing. Most emergency lights will take a philips head head, though some hazardous location of vandal proof luminaire's will use a special hex driver bit. Hopefully you or your maintenance department kept the included bit when the device was purchased.

STEP 2 - Now that you have removed the plate you will be presented with lots of wires (don't worry its normal). Some of these red, black, blue or white electrical wires will lead from the AC electrical conduit to a voltage transfomer that leads to the switching circuits. One, two or several wires connect the circuit board to the battery. 

STEP 3 - Depending on you emergency light, the battery will either be a sealed lead acid (SLA)  or Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) battery type. SLA's tend to look like baby car batteries, while NiCd usually resemble normal household AAA batteries, sealed in a protective plastic shrink wrap.

Most batteries will slide out of the unit once the leads have been removed from the + and - contact points. Some cells will be housed in a harness, which you must also remove.

TYPES OF EXIT SIGN BATTERIES

OVERVIEW

Most emergency Exit Signs are powered by a building's AC power which keeps the battery backup system fully charged. During a power failure the battery will need to light the sign for at least 90 minutes. But did you know Exit Signs use more than one type of battery? This article we will delve further into the types of batteries used in these life-saving signs.

Some Exit Signs on the market do not require power, however, they are often confused with our electric LED models. Such non-electric fixtures include Photoluminescent (glow in the dark) and Self-Luminous signs, which are naturally illuminated by a glowing hydrogen gas called tritium. Such battery-free units are perfect for remote locations where a building's electricity is not readily available and have a 20-year operational life; far longer than the 90 minutes provided by electrical units.

Long ago, Exit Signs were not even considered emergency fixtures, expiring the second a power loss occurred. Later, buildings began installing battery units on each floor to power a string of remote Exit Signs. While a major advance from the prior generation, these early emergency units suffered from an overloaded power-source that would drain to quickly after a power failure.

Today laws and technology have advanced considerably. The incandescent bulbs of the last century, which might last two years, have been phased out by LED technology that lasts a decade and uses a fraction of the wattage. Modern Exit Signs also have smaller batteries that fit within the unit. These combined advantages lead to a more efficient, longer lasting sign.

EXIT SIGN BATTERY TYPES

Only three types of battery cells are used in modern Exit Signs: nickel cadmium (NiCad), nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and sealed lead-acid. Nickel cadmium batteries can last up to ten years and come in various sizes and capacities to fit different requirements. They resemble small black bricks with contact points on the front and sides.

Nickel hydride cells appear to be the same as nickel cadmium batteries, only smaller. That is because the only major difference in NiMH design are its negative contact points, made of a hydrogen-absorbing allow rather than cadmium.

Sealed lead-acid batteries are found in most pre-LED exit technologies and current Exit Sign Combo units. Despite their age, sealed lead-acid can carry a heavier electric load than NiCad or NiMH, making them ideal for Combo units which include powerful dual headlamps on top of the standard LED exit design.

Knowing a little bit about battery requirements for the various emergency exit signs will make purchasing replacements much easier in the future.

how to check emergency light battery

Godson Technology Co., Ltd. is a globally trusted supplier and manufacturer of emergency lighting battery, emergency lighting products and power tool battery, whose batteries range covers Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, LiFePO4, Lead Acid, Lion-polymer and other relevant lithium batteries.

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