The emergency exit lights are primarily used in commercial and residential building sites. They are installed near the exit ways are used at the time of emergency. As per a research paper, the energy utilization of the United States is 17% of the whole world. Therefore, to reduce a nation’s carbon footprint, a new generation LED exit sign with battery backup plays an essential role in the safety measures of the building premises.
The power outage situation in the United States has doubled in recent times, and the emergency has also become chaotic. The National Fire Protection Association guidelines make it mandatory that the exit lights are visible to the building occupants during the crisis. There should not be any violation of the given rule.
Self-illuminated alternatives
Some of the manufacturers offer self-illumination exit signs – either tritium or photoluminescent variant. These light fixtures can provide brightness without the help of a direct power source.
Some of the exit signs are illuminated by the use of radioactive gas tritium, a colorless gas, and deliver red or green lighting. Unfortunately, the disposal cost is very much high for these lights.
The exhausted signs need proper disposal, and many financial costs revolve around the tritium fixtures. The photoluminescent exit signs have chemicals that absorb energy from the light source and release the visible brightness.
The lights require constant power sourcing when the people occupy the building. In addition, most of the exit and emergency signs rely on direct power sources. The backup batteries of the exit and emergency signs store electrical power in chemical form. A series of process changes help the exit signs to deliver brightness.
Electric emergency signs
The self-luminescent lights are an excellent option for any building premise. In addition, the battery of the exit lights stores the energy in chemical form for emergency use.
The emergency lights mainly rely on nickel-cadmium and sealed lead acid type of batteries. While sealed lead acid gets damaged due to deep recycling and nickel-cadmium ones last longer, have fast recharging capacity, and work in extreme conditions. They mainly lose their ability when subjected to harsh cold and hot conditions for long periods.
LED exit signs
The conventional lights deliver illumination in different ways. The fluorescent lamps require chemical reactions to other kinds of gases to excite. Incandescent lights heat a thread known as the filament until it glows.
LED lights are efficient are best for long-time usage. They emit light in a specific direction, and the component does not wear out quickly. They also have low energy requirements and can run continuously. In conventional fixtures, the lumen degradation is much faster than the LED fixtures.