“When building owners and end users pay for architectural
services, they may have a wonderful structure with every-
thing considered in the space – until the end of the project
when ill-considered, utilitarian, even ugly, emergency
lighting is installed to provide light for emergency egress,”
says Decker.
“In nicer hospitality, entertainment, office, and service
settings with refined interiors –like hotels, resorts, restau-
rants, spas, casinos, museums, historic districts, and
themed amusement parks – foreign looking emergency
lighting fixtures mounted to the walls or ceiling can look
really out of place,” he adds.
While there are many emergency lighting approaches
available that will sufficiently provide one foot candle of
illumination along the path of egress as specified by the
NFPA, these options typically begin with deciding on the
type of power source that will be used in the event of a
power outage.
Often, existing architectural lights are incorporated if
possible, powered by centralized inverters or generators.
However, when that is not sufficient, dedicated battery
powered emergency lights may be required, but these can
be obtrusive and unattractive.
“If the engineer proposes to put ugly, ‘bug-eye’ emergency
lights in a beautiful interior space, we try to find aesthetic
solutions that still meet the code requirement of providing
enough egress lighting for emergency situations – while
maintaining the beauty of that space,” says Decker, who is a
trained architect.
“Bug-eye” is the colorful term used to describe typical
emergency lighting that surface mounts on the wall with a
battery box under two lamps that resemble a bug’s eyes.
Decker says there are superior methods for hiding, or con-
cealing, emergency lighting.
The first method is to utilize a backup battery hidden in the
housing of a lighting fixture, such as a recessed downlight
or suspended linear luminaire. In the event of a power
failure, the battery will then supply emergency lighting for
a designated amount of time as determined by code.
However, Decker points out another alternative. He points
to Isolite, a manufacturer of specification-grade emergency
lighting products. The company offers the Genie, along
with a more compact version called the Mini Genie, that
remain fully recessed behind two flat panel doors installed
in the ceiling or walls until needed.
“With the Genie and Mini Genie, you have a concealed look
architecturally, but under normal loss of power the battery
kicks in, the doors open, and the lamps pop out to light the
way,” says Decker.
“The recessed solution lends itself to maintaining the integ-
rity of the architectural interior space, so it works function-
ally and aesthetically,” he adds.
24 NCP Magazine • February ‘19