Emergency lighting testing in Alberta, monthly and yearly

What Alberta's fire code requires you to test

Emergency lighting testing in Alberta is set by the National Fire Code 2023 Alberta Edition (NFC(AE) 2023), Division B, 6.5.1.6 to 6.5.1.8: a monthly check and function test on battery units, a full-duration test once a year, and a yearly inspection of other emergency lights and exit signs. It's not set by the CSA C282 standard, though a lot of websites say so. C282 covers emergency generators.

The code has been in force since May 1, 2024. Here's how the three articles read in plain terms.

The owner carries this duty (Division C, 2.2.1.1), and unlike fire alarm or sprinkler work, Division C names no qualification for testing emergency lights. Your maintenance staff can do the monthly rounds. A contractor earns their keep on the yearly test, the records and the repairs. Our fire system inspections page puts these next to every other system's schedule, and the Alberta annual inspection guide explains the owner's wider duty, and the emergency lighting and exit signs page covers the equipment itself.

Emergency generators are separate. The code sends them to CSA C282-15, with weekly and monthly checks, liquid fuel tanks drained and refilled with fresh fuel at intervals not over 12 months (Division B, 6.5.1.5, whose note also describes conditioning the fuel as an option), and a person trained by a generator manufacturer for the work (Division C, 2.2.4.7). Fire alarm systems are separate too, and follow CAN/ULC-S536 (see our fire alarm systems page). This article covers lighting and signs only.

The 30 versus 90 minute confusion

Search for emergency light testing and you'll find two numbers, 30 and 90 minutes, sometimes in the same article. Both are real. They come from different countries.

The American Life Safety Code, NFPA 101, calls for emergency illumination for a minimum of 90 minutes and a yearly test at that duration. Canada's model code doesn't. The National Building Code 2023 Alberta Edition (NBC(AE) 2023), Article 3.2.7.4, requires emergency power for lighting to take over automatically and last 2 hours in high buildings, 1 hour in buildings of Group B (care, treatment and detention) major occupancy and buildings built under two specific articles, and 30 minutes in any other occupancy. Older buildings were designed under earlier editions, so confirm the design duration on the building's own documents if it matters to a decision.

What does the NFC actually say about the yearly test? That the units be tested for the full design duration. So the test length is whatever the building was designed for, not a number from a website:

• most offices, shops, warehouses and apartment buildings that aren't high buildings, 30 minutes;
• hospitals, care facilities, jails and buildings in the same NBC group, 1 hour;
• high buildings as defined in NBC Subsection 3.2.6, 2 hours.

A trap follows. Plenty of units on the market are rated for 90 minutes because the manufacturer sells them across North America, and a maintenance company from Texas will test to 90 by habit. That runs more battery time than the Alberta code needs for a 30 minute building, and deep discharges wear batteries. The reverse is the problem. A unit tested for 30 minutes in a building designed for 1 or 2 hours doesn't prove it. If you don't know your building's design duration, look it up on the original drawings, on the label, or ask the designer. When in doubt, test to the longer number and mention it in your record.

How bright the lights have to be

The code sets a light level for design, and testing doesn't measure it. Still, it's useful to know. NBC Article 3.2.7.3 asks for an average of at least 10 lux at floor or tread level along exits, principal routes to exits, public corridors and a list of other spaces, with no point below 1 lux. Ten lux is roughly one foot-candle, so it lines up closely with the 1 foot-candle average you'll see in American sources, and one lux is about a tenth of a foot-candle.

That matters when a light "works" but doesn't do the job. A head knocked out of aim points at the wall. A tenant fit-up adds a partition and puts a stretch of corridor in shadow. A pile of boxes stops the light from reaching the floor. None of those fails the monthly push test. You spot them by walking the route with the building's lights off and checking that you can see the floor.

A monthly routine your staff can run

Keep it dull and repeatable. The point is to catch a dead unit within a month.

1. Print the unit list with location and a number for each. If you haven't got one, make it this month. Walk the building and label them.
2. At each unit, look at the pilot (charge) light. A dark pilot light usually means no charging supply, a dead charger or a failed battery.
3. Check that the unit is fixed, the lamp heads still point where they should, terminals are clean and the battery's surface is dry.
4. Run the test button or switch the supply off at the source, as the manufacturer directs, and confirm the lamps come on. Keep the test short on the monthly round.
5. Restore the unit, confirm the pilot light returns and record the date, your name and the result.
6. Check each battery-backed exit sign the same way: on power failure, the sign has to stay lit.

Some owners install self-testing units that log their own function tests, and they cut down on walking. They're worth a look. The code's wording still applies, so you still need the records and the yearly duration test to be confirmed, so find out what the self-test log covers before you drop the manual round.

The yearly test, step by step

The yearly test is a planned event, and it's the one that finds weak batteries.

1. Notify occupants and security, and pick a time when losing the light in a corridor won't put anyone at risk.
2. Record the design duration for each area (30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours).
3. Simulate power failure at each unit or group and time the run. Watch for the light dimming before the end.
4. Confirm the lights are still working at the end of the duration. If a unit dies early, mark it failed.
5. Restore power. Check the charger's voltage and current and that the unit recovers as the manufacturer specifies. That check is part of the code text (6.5.1.6(3)).
6. Do the inspection of other emergency lights and every exit sign at the same visit, since those are annual too.

Plan the test so units aren't all down at once. Test a floor at a time and give each unit time to recharge before you move on. A drained unit needs time to recharge before it can protect anyone, so a whole-building test on a Friday evening leaves the building thin over the weekend.

Exit signs

Exit signs get the least attention and cause more inspection notes than you'd think. Under NBC Article 3.4.5.1, a building needs exit signs over or beside exit doors where it has more than two storeys, an occupant load over 150, or a room or floor area that uses a fire escape as part of its required exits. Required signs use the green and white pictogram (the running person), not the older red EXIT lettering. Existing signs may be treated differently, and the AHJ decides. Signs that light internally follow CSA C22.2 No. 141. Photoluminescent and other non-electrical signs follow CAN/ULC-S572.

Test the ones with batteries monthly and yearly, and inspect the rest every 12 months. What you're checking is the same in each case. Can you see the sign from where you need to see it? Is anything hanging in front of it, whether a banner, a rack or a new duct? Is the lens faded, cracked or dirty? Does it stay lit when power goes off?

What to record, and where to keep it

Records are half the job. Alberta's fire code requires records of required tests, inspections and maintenance to be made and kept, with the original or a copy at the premises for the fire department or other AHJ (NFC(AE) 2023, Division C, 2.2.1.2). Later records: keep at least the current and the previous, and don't destroy any within five years of when it was prepared. Keep them on site.

For each unit and sign, a good record has:

• the location and unit number;
• the date and who did it;
• the test done (monthly function, yearly duration, inspection);
• the design duration and the measured run time for the yearly test;
• the result and, if it failed, what was done and when.

A single spreadsheet or a logbook at the electrical room works. What matters is that an inspector can see twelve months of monthly entries and one yearly entry per unit without waiting for someone to go and find them. Where Edmonton's fire department asks for third-party ITM reports on emergency lighting, they're submitted to the City through its Life Safety Inspection Vault (LIV) platform, starting September 8, 2026 (per the City's report submission page). If a contractor does your yearly test, ask them to handle the upload.

Why emergency lights fail

The same handful of problems turn up.

• Dead or weak batteries. Batteries age. The manufacturer's label and manual give the service life of the battery in your unit, so note the installation date and plan replacements before the yearly test finds them.
• Charger or supply problems. A pilot light that's out often means the circuit feeding the unit was switched off, a breaker tripped, or the charger died. Check the supply before you buy a battery.
• Lamp heads out of aim, or a light no longer covering the route after renovations.
• Corroded terminals and loose clamps. Damp and cold both hurt. Units in parkades and unheated rooms wear out sooner.
• Exit signs blocked or dim.
• Units removed or covered during painting and not put back. This one is more common than anyone admits.

Treat a failed unit as a repair to be done now. A note saying "replace at next visit" is fine for a cosmetic issue and not for the light on a stair.

When to bring someone in

You can run the monthly round. Bring in a contractor when you can't finish the yearly duration test in a day, when a unit keeps failing, when a renovation has changed the routes and you doubt the coverage, or when the building has central battery or inverter systems, which need more than a push test. We test and document emergency lighting and exit signs as part of our inspection and maintenance service. Send the address and a rough unit count through the contact page or call 780.760.0806.

Frequently asked questions

How often do emergency lights need to be tested in Alberta?

Battery unit equipment gets a monthly inspection and function test and a full-duration test every 12 months (NFC(AE) 2023, 6.5.1.6). Other emergency lights and exit signs are inspected at least every 12 months, and battery-backed exit signs are checked monthly as well (6.5.1.7 and 6.5.1.8). Keep the records on site.

How long should an emergency light run during the yearly test?

For its full design duration. Under the National Building Code that's 30 minutes in most buildings, 1 hour in care, treatment and detention buildings, and 2 hours in high buildings. The 90 minute figure is the American NFPA 101 number. Check your building's design duration before you set the test time.

Does CSA C282 cover emergency lighting tests?

No. CSA C282 covers emergency generators (emergency power supply). Battery unit emergency lighting is tested under NFC(AE) 2023, 6.5.1.6, and units are built to CSA C22.2 No. 141.

Who is allowed to test emergency lighting in Alberta?

The fire code names no qualification for emergency lighting and exit signs, so an owner's trained staff can do the monthly checks. A contractor is sensible for the yearly test and repairs. Emergency generators are different. They need a manufacturer-trained person (Division C, 2.2.4.7).

How bright does emergency lighting have to be?

The National Building Code asks for an average of at least 10 lux at floor level along exit routes and in the other listed spaces, with no point under 1 lux (Article 3.2.7.3). That's a design requirement. Testing checks that the lights work and last, and a walk-through checks that they still cover the route.

Do exit signs have to be green?

Required exit signs in new work use the green and white pictogram under NBC Article 3.4.5.1. Existing red EXIT signs may be accepted in older buildings, and the AHJ decides.

Sources

• National Fire Code 2023 Alberta Edition, National Research Council Canada
• National Building Code 2023 Alberta Edition, National Research Council Canada
• Fire codes and standards, Government of Alberta
• Fire Inspection Report Submission, City of Edmonton
• NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, NFPA Journal