Emergency Batton Lights from Emergency Key switch through photocell to lights advice

PowerRanger89 · Monday at 9:18 PM

Hi everyone,

I'm running 4 core swa on tray and its feeding from a single phase circuit breaker, through a key switch, going through a photocell, then to light 1 which is a LED tube, then to light 2 which is the same just an emergency version, then light 3 normal and light 4 emergency and so on, 8 in total, 4 normal and 4 emergency....

Using brown as live or PL and using black as SW for emergency, blue obviously for neutral and Earth obviously the yellow and green...

I've attached a a rough and quick drawn drawing of what im going to do, im just doubting myself a bit, and would like your advice if that would work like drawn.

Thanks everyone

binky · Monday at 9:36 PM

surely SL should be through the photocell and PL just straight through /isolated by the key switch.

UNG · Monday at 9:50 PM

You are right to doubt yourself with that circuit diagram
Not sure what you are trying to achieve with the emergency key switch as it switches power away from the emergency fittings to the photocell thus stopping the batteries charging in those fittings when the photocell is energised
for this to workyYou need a permanant live to each emergency fitting
Then you need a live to the photocell and a switched live from it to each fitting
Question then is do you need a switched override on the photocell

Fleeting · Monday at 9:52 PM

Change your PL and SL around on the drawing. The test facility only needs to switch the PL and should be closed in normal use.

Andy™ · 2024-12-03T06:53:16+0000

PL. permanent live. the clue is in its name. the only switch in the PL is the test switch (which you don't have). you should also wire it correctly so it only switches the PL to the emergencies and not the entire circuit, like most idiots do

PowerRanger89 · 2024-12-03T07:26:49+0000

Fleeting said:
Change your PL and SL around on the drawing. The test facility on

Fleeting said:
Change your PL and SL around on the drawing. The test facility only needs to switch the PL and should be closed in normal use.

I added a bypass to the photocell, quickly drew a rough sketch again changing them around, did you mean like the attached photo?

Andy™ · 2024-12-03T07:38:46+0000

PowerRanger89 said:
I added a bypass to the photocell, quickly drew a rough sketch again changing them around, did you mean like the attached photo?

still wrong. move the wire from L1 to com. you're not changing where the power goes. PL is permanent unless its switched off for test. the way you've got it it'll always go into test whenever the lights are turned on, and whislt its on test all the non emergency lights won't work

PowerRanger89 · 2024-12-03T07:47:06+0000

Andy™ said:
still wrong. move the wire from L1 to com. you're not changing where the power goes. PL is permanent unless its switched off for test. the way you've got it it'll always go into test whenever the lights are turned on, and whislt its on test all the non emergency lights won't work

So live from CB and SL in one terminal ( COM ) running to photocell and bypass, and L1 terminal being left open and L2 being PL going to EMG Lights? I apologize im trying to teach myself emergency lighting as ive not worked with emg key switches before and im actually a MV spark

Fleeting · 2024-12-03T08:33:53+0000

Try to look at it like the em lighting is a separate part of the circuit.
Take the live to the COM of the test facility then from L1 to the PL of the circuit, the L1 is closed in normal operation nothing connects from L2.
Secondly take the live for the general lighting from the same COM terminal and treat it as a separate entity.

Fleeting · 2024-12-03T09:17:19+0000

You need something like this.

PowerRanger89 · 2024-12-03T11:48:01+0000

Thank you for your patience, I really appreciate your help, that makes so much sense

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