Emergency Lighting Failure Leaves Cineworld Customers in the Dark
Emergency Lighting Failure Leaves Cineworld Customers in the Dark
Customers at Cineworld in Glasgow were forced to evacuate in complete darkness after an emergency lighting failure during a power cut last weekend. Not only did the cinema have to refund the unhappy film goers, they also faced accusations that they had put their customers in danger. Emergency lighting ensures that escape routes are adequately lit so that occupants can vacate a building quickly and safely. Cineworld Glasgow, Renfrew Street posted a message on its Facebook page promising customers full refunds. Many unhappy customers responded to the post, with one Facebook user commenting: No emergency lighting? Hundreds of people - some disabled - trying to get down dozens of flights of stairs in the dark, a disabled lady in front of me was clearly struggling. According to the Daily Record one customer was also trapped inside a lift and had to be rescued by a fire and rescue team. EN0171 is a European regulation that governs the installation of emergency lighting. It states that standby power systems must provide power to the lighting for at least 3 hours. The fact that the lighting failed at the Glasgow Cineworld suggests that standby power either hadn't been put in place or hadn't been correctly maintained.
Emergency Lighting for Showcase Cinemas
In order to prevent this issue happening to Showcase Cinemas, we installed a static inverter, a special UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) designed for emergency lighting, in every screen at their Reading, Leeds and Nottingham sites. This means the each cinema now has 3 hours of emergency lighting in the event of a power failure. This ensures both the safety of Showcase Cinemas' customers, as well as compliance with the EN0171 regulation. You can view our Showcase Cinemas case study here. 
Emergency lighting is prone to high inrushes and power surges. To cope with this demand, static inverters must be able to operate at continuous overload without affecting the load or their stability. Batteries are required to attain an 80% recharge rate within 12 hours and must provide three hours of run time after being fully discharged every 12 months. In view of this, it's important to select the most suitable range of static inverters that meet standards above and beyond EN 50171 requirements. We can source, install and maintain standby power products and emergency lighting. Please contact us if you have any emergency lighting or standby power requirements that we may be able to help you with. You can call us on 01488 680500 or alternately, you can get in touch via our contact form.
UPS Systems plc offer various diesel generators including 60kva generator, 80kva generator and 100kva generator from a wide range of manufacturers including AKSA generator and Pramac generator. We also offer a wide range of uninterruptible power supplies including those from Riello UPS and Eaton UPS as well as the UPS battery packs designed to go with them.