Central battery units and controllers
Central battery units and their controllers set up and commissioned — changeover, circuit monitoring and alarm reporting configured and checked.
Emergency and central battery
Emergency lighting and central battery systems, commissioned to BS 5266.
Life-safety lighting has to work the one time it really matters. We commission central battery units and their controllers, prove the emergency lighting they feed, and hand over the records inspectors expect to see — experience that includes central battery systems across an airport cargo operation.
- BS 5266
- Central battery systems
- Emergency lighting testing
- Witnessing
- Lighting controls integration
What's included
Life-safety lighting, proven before anyone relies on it.
Emergency luminaires
Every emergency luminaire on every circuit proven to come on when it should, with locations and addresses recorded.
Functional and duration testing
Changeover on mains failure and full rated-duration tests carried out and recorded, so the system is proven at handover — not at the first real outage.
Working with the lighting controls
Emergency and normal lighting set up to work together, with lighting controls and backup power linked across every location.
Monitoring and reporting
Automatic test scheduling and fault reporting configured and, where it's wanted, status passed to the BMS so failures don't wait for the next manual check.
Witnessing and records
Witnessing by you, your CxA or the inspector, then test records, as-builts and logbook information handed over for the O&M.
The detail
What emergency lighting commissioning involves
BS 5266-1 is the UK code of practice for emergency lighting in non-domestic premises. It expects a new installation to be commissioned and proven before handover — luminaires in the right places, working on mains failure for their full rated duration — and for the results to be recorded so the building's responsible person can show compliance.
Central battery systems (covered by BS EN 50171) power emergency luminaires from a central unit rather than a battery in each fitting. They make maintenance and testing easier on large sites, but there's more to commission: the central unit, its sub-circuits, circuit monitoring, changeover devices and often an addressable controller that schedules tests and reports faults.
On complex sites the emergency system rarely lives on its own. It shares drawings, circuits and often controllers with the normal lighting controls — which is why we commission both sides and make sure they agree with each other.
How a job runs
How an emergency lighting job runs.
- 01
Survey and readiness
Confirm luminaires, circuits and central units are installed and powered, and flag gaps before the test programme starts.
- 02
Central battery set-up
Units and controllers configured, circuits and monitoring set up, and system status checked.
- 03
Functional testing
Simulated mains failure on each circuit, every luminaire checked, faults logged and chased to close-out.
- 04
Duration test
A full rated-duration discharge test, with the results recorded.
- 05
Witnessing & handover
Witnessed by you, your CxA or the inspector, with snags closed out before sign-off.
- 06
Records & logbook
Test records, as-builts and logbook information handed over for the O&M, ready for the routine testing that follows.
Experience
Where we've done it before.
Airport cargo centre
Commissioned central battery units and controllers across several locations, linking lighting controls and backup power, plus the lighting throughout an automated cargo handling centre.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
- What standard do you commission emergency lighting to?
- BS 5266, the UK code of practice for emergency lighting. We work alongside the luminaire and controls manufacturers so the finished system has manufacturer sign-off as well.
- Do you commission central battery systems?
- Yes — central battery units and their controllers are a large part of our emergency work, including multi-location systems at an airport cargo operation.
- Do you work on existing emergency lighting systems?
- Yes. As well as new installations we offer retro-commissioning, maintenance and aftercare, including remote monitoring where the system supports it.
- Can emergency lighting status show up on the BMS?
- Yes, where the controller supports it. We map test results and fault status onto the BMS over BACnet/IP, Modbus or MQTT, so failures show up where the facilities team is already looking.
- Are you insured?
- Yes — we carry public liability insurance.
Related services
Often on the same project.
Lighting controls commissioningLighting controls and DALI commissioningEngineer-led DALI and lighting controls commissioning: addressing, groups, scenes, sensors and point-to-point testing through to a signed handover.Read moreBMS and systems integrationLighting to BMS integrationLighting controls, emergency lighting and sensors integrated with the BMS over BACnet/IP, Modbus and MQTT — with custom interpreters when kit won't talk.Read more
Get in touch
Got a site that needs commissioning?
Tell us the systems, the sector and the programme — we'll tell you straight whether we're the right fit and what it takes to sign it off clean.
- hello@tps505.com
- Coverage
- UK-wide and international
- Insured
- Public liability