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Code-required basics — buy the right sign for your country

Emergency Lighting and Exit Signs (incl. Photoluminescent)

Acuity Brands (Lithonia) · American Permalight Canada & United States $$ · No reliable public figure; priced per fixture plus electrician time

Battery-backed lights illuminate exit paths when the power fails, and exit signs mark the way out. Photoluminescent signs glow without any power after being charged by ambient light.

Why we like it

  • Required by code in most commercial and multi-unit buildings, so the specification is clear
  • Self-testing units cut the labour of monthly and annual tests
  • Photoluminescent signs need no wiring or batteries

Watch out for

  • Canadian and US sign formats differ — a US 'EXIT' sign is wrong for most Canadian projects
  • Photoluminescent signs need a minimum level of ambient light to stay charged
  • Battery units need regular testing and eventual battery replacement
Best for

Commercial buildings, offices, retail, schools and multi-unit residential corridors and stairwells.

Read the full market guide — costs, install effort and alternatives ↓
Market guide

The whole commitment, end to end

What this actually is, what the market looks like, what it really costs, and how much of your time it wants — before you spend anything.

Buying it Easy
Installing it Moderate
Living with it Easy
Up front

No reliable public figure — get quotes. Basic units are available at retail; commercial-grade and self-testing units cost more.

Lead time

Usually in stock at electrical distributors

Time to install

Varies with wiring — no reliable figure

How it works

Unit equipment — the familiar 'bug-eye' twin-head lights — contains a battery and charger and switches on automatically when normal power fails. Larger buildings may run emergency lighting from a central inverter or a generator instead. Exit signs are either internally lit (usually LED, with battery backup) or self-luminous/photoluminescent, which absorb ambient light and glow when it goes dark. Canada has used the green 'running man' pictogram in the National Building Code since 2010; most US jurisdictions use red or green 'EXIT' text.

Who needs it

Required by building and fire codes for exit routes in most commercial, institutional and multi-unit residential buildings in both countries.

Codes, standards and listings

Canada
National Building Code of Canada (green running-man exit sign since 2010); emergency lighting duration of 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on occupancy. CSA C22.2 No. 141 for emergency lighting equipment; ULC-S572 for photoluminescent exit signs. Testing per the National Fire Code.
United States
NFPA 101 / IBC; emergency lighting must last 90 minutes under NFPA 101. Equipment listed to UL 924. Monthly 30-second and annual 90-minute tests.

What the market looks like

Basic units are sold through electrical distributors, Grainger and, for simple models, Home Depot; installation is normally by an electrician. Electrical distributors include Graybar and Wesco in the US and Nedco, Rexel and Guillevin in Canada. Acuity Brands (Lithonia) is a major maker of fixtures and American Permalight specializes in photoluminescent signs. We found no reliable public per-fixture prices.

Features that actually matter

Unit equipment
Self-contained battery lights that switch on at power loss; the common choice in small and mid-size buildings.
Central systems
Inverters or generators feed emergency fixtures in larger buildings.
Self-testing
Units that run their own monthly and annual tests and flag faults, reducing the labour of manual testing.
Photoluminescent signs
No wiring or batteries, but they need enough ambient light to charge.
Country-specific signage
Green running man in Canada; 'EXIT' text in most of the US.

What it really costs

Up front
No reliable public figure — get quotes. Basic units are available at retail; commercial-grade and self-testing units cost more.
Consumables
Replacement batteries for unit equipment. No reliable public figure.
What else you'll need
Electrician installation and circuit work.
Over five years
Monthly and annual testing labour, which self-testing units reduce. No reliable public figure — get quotes.

We found no reliable public per-fixture price source in Canada or the US, so no figures are given. Get quotes from an electrical distributor and an electrician.

How it differs from the alternatives

Battery units versus central systems
Unit equipment is simpler to install; central inverters or generators centralize maintenance in larger buildings.
Internally lit versus photoluminescent signs
Photoluminescent signs avoid wiring and battery maintenance but depend on adequate ambient light; check they are listed for the jurisdiction (ULC-S572 in Canada).
Canada versus US
Duration requirements and sign format differ. Specify for the country — and the province or state — where the building is.
01

Buying it

Effort Easy

Where: Electrical/lighting wholesalers (Graybar, Wesco in the US; Nedco, Rexel, Guillevin in Canada), Grainger, and Home Depot for basic units; installed by an electrician.

Lead time: Usually in stock at electrical distributors

Check the listing mark before buying: UL 924 for the US, CSA C22.2 No. 141 for Canadian emergency lighting, and the Canadian running-man sign format.

02

Installing it

Effort Moderate

Time: Varies with wiring — no reliable figure

You'll need: Electrician install

Hardwired to an unswitched circuit so the battery stays charged.

03

Living with it

Effort Easy

US: monthly 30-second test and annual 90-minute test under NFPA 101. Canada: testing per the National Fire Code. Self-testing units reduce the labour but someone still has to read the fault indicators.

If not this, then what

  • Self-testing unit equipmentSame function with automated testing; worth it in buildings with many fixtures.
  • Central inverter or generator-fed lightingFor larger buildings where maintaining many batteries is impractical.

Caveats

  • US and Canadian sign formats differ — don't use US 'EXIT' signs on Canadian projects.
  • Photoluminescent signs only work if the space has enough ambient light to keep them charged.
  • We found no reliable public per-fixture prices.
Our verdict

Not optional in most non-residential buildings, and not complicated if you buy listed units for the right country. The common mistake is US-format exit signs on Canadian projects.

We don't take payment for placement and we don't sell these products. If you think we've got something wrong here, tell us — we'll correct it.

Sources

  1. American Permalight

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