Aisle Lights

I just did the Chorus Line National Touring Company, and for the initial reveal of the mirrors, they asked and I got permission from the Fire Marshal to turn off the aisle lights for the first black out, lasting no more then 30 seconds. At that same time we had ushers cover the exit signs with placards.
 
After an incident in our community theatre, it was difficult to get information from the Fire Marshall regarding aisle lights. We did have an insurance inspector (for theaters) note that they were required, that our step lights (11 watt) were sufficient, and that they, along with the exit lights, should be on before, during and after each performance; anytime there is an audience.

These lights do not interfere with the performance.
 
From the Building Code of Australia, NSW addendum:
NSW H101.20.3 Provision of Aisle Lighting

Where general lighting is to be either dimmed or extinguished when the public is in attendance and where the floor is stepped or at an inclination greater than 1 in 12, aisle lights must be provided to illuminate the length of each aisle and the tread of each step therein.

NSW H101.20.4 Aisle lighting power supply

Where an aisle light is installed in a seat frame, it must be supplied at a voltage of not more than 32 volts AC or 115 volts DC.

NSW H101.20.5 Aisle lighting alternative power supply

Aisle lighting must be provided with an alternative electricity supply that
(a) is capable of being automatically energised in the event of failure of the primary lighting electricity supple; and
(b) complies with the provisions applying to emergency lighting.

Exit lights down here are normally white lettering (though the standard has changed to be simply a pictogram) on a green background. An alternate version is available for theatres etc using green lettering on a black background...
 
On my mainstage, our aisle lights are built into the seating and cannot be turned off unless the breakers are tripped. In my modular space, I hang off-inventory ellipsoidals (usually colortran mini 50 degree)focused to the aisles and profiled to 15% intensity. In addition, I have a couple exit signs on c-clamps that I can move to wherever the set and seating allow, which I wire in to the emergency lighting that powers the wall mounted signs (a little wire splicing and an edison plug). I too take safety seriously, yet I do often complain while I'm doing the work.
 
Just remember local fire and building codes are your friend and even then it can bee seen as a gray area. I have a good knowledge of both in Clark County Nevada and the rule is generally held at illumination is required between 2 and 5 foot candles 1 foot off the ground in any aisle of egress.
I say gray area because the codes are created for other purposes besides theater. You should never black out an egress, even if you have someone stationed there. We use the rule to say 2 foot candles during the shows, and 5 on entry and exit. 2 is hardly anything to the eye, and in proscenium houses this will not read onstage. When you do a show in the round that is another story all together.

This in no way means your fire and building codes are the same. Get a copy and read them. Yes they are boring but they are also informative.

Above all we want to produce good work and no one wants anyone to get hurt by it. Physically or financially.

Just MHO
 
At my college we were allowed to have less obnoxious green exit lights in the theatre instead of the usual red ones. Check out your local laws and see if you can get your red lights replaced with green ones.

Um you've got that very backwards my friend. The Yellow/Green wave lengths are the ones the human eye sees the best. Consequently Red light doesn't disturb your night vision nearly as much as green. Perhaps your particular red lights were too bright, but scientifically it's far better to have red exit lights than green.

Also anyone having exit light concerns should contact their local fire marshal to find out the specific code requirement. In my city you have to have 1 lumen of light at floor level from the exit sign. That's not much. My Exit signs are a green LED source. I put some R63 in them and it did a wonderful job of filtering them down a little bit more. The Fire Marshal's still happy and the stray light situation is much better. Do not do this on your own. Consult your fire marshal first.

As for aisle lights that's really interesting. I'm in a black box with portable seats. And I have no aisle lights. I was told that there is a loophole in the law that allows theaters, under a certain occupancy level, with portable seats to not have aisle lights.
 
Um you've got that very backwards my friend. The Yellow/Green wave lengths are the ones the human eye sees the best. Consequently Red light doesn't disturb your night vision nearly as much as green. Perhaps your particular red lights were too bright, but scientifically it's far better to have red exit lights than green.

Also anyone having exit light concerns should contact their local fire marshal to find out the specific code requirement. In my city you have to have 1 lumen of light at floor level from the exit sign. That's not much. My Exit signs are a green LED source. I put some R63 in them and it did a wonderful job of filtering them down a little bit more. The Fire Marshal's still happy and the stray light situation is much better. Do not do this on your own. Consult your fire marshal first.

As for aisle lights that's really interesting. I'm in a black box with portable seats. And I have no aisle lights. I was told that there is a loophole in the law that allows theaters, under a certain occupancy level, with portable seats to not have aisle lights.

I said less obnoxious...not less visible. They do look brighter then the old red ones...but everyone so far that I've talked to says they are much less obnoxious and distracting then the red ones. Green tends to blend in better with the surroundings.

We also have portable seats and only a 150 person occupancy and we don't need aisle lights ether so thats most likely true.
 
We also have portable seats and only a 150 person occupancy and we don't need aisle lights ether so thats most likely true.

Since this was an older post, I was not going to reply, until I read the last two comments about temporary seating and not requiring aisle lights...

If your AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) goes by NFPA101 Life Safety Code (as most do), then you are required to have your egress routes illuminated at all times. Sections 13.2.8 (for existing structures) and Section 12.2.8 (for new construction) require it for all assembly occupancies (except private party tents <1200 sq. ft.). They both refer you to Section 7.8 for the specific guidelines.

There is a special provision in 7.8.1.3(3) that says during the performance, illumination can be reduced to 0.2 ft-candles (2.2 lux), but when there is not a performance actually happening at that point in time, 7.8.1.3(2) requires 1 ft-candle (10.8 lux) for existing stairs/paths, and 7.8.1.3(1) requires 10-ft-candle for new stairs.

Seating in a black box theatre can technically be considered a grandstand, however, I was unable to find any code that exempts grandstands from the illumination requirement.

If there is any question of safety, I always do whatever affords the most safety, not convenience. If there is a question, DO NOT ASSUME. You put your employer AND YOURSELF at risk.
 
Since this was an older post, I was not going to reply, until I read the last two comments about temporary seating and not requiring aisle lights...

If your AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) goes by NFPA101 Life Safety Code (as most do), then you are required to have your egress routes illuminated at all times. Sections 13.2.8 (for existing structures) and Section 12.2.8 (for new construction) require it for all assembly occupancies (except private party tents <1200 sq. ft.). They both refer you to Section 7.8 for the specific guidelines.

There is a special provision in 7.8.1.3(3) that says during the performance, illumination can be reduced to 0.2 ft-candles (2.2 lux), but when there is not a performance actually happening at that point in time, 7.8.1.3(2) requires 1 ft-candle (10.8 lux) for existing stairs/paths, and 7.8.1.3(1) requires 10-ft-candle for new stairs.

Seating in a black box theatre can technically be considered a grandstand, however, I was unable to find any code that exempts grandstands from the illumination requirement.

If there is any question of safety, I always do whatever affords the most safety, not convenience. If there is a question, DO NOT ASSUME. You put your employer AND YOURSELF at risk.

Well, the Bristol Rhode Island Fire Marshal and Building Inspector says we are perfectly fine. The fire marshal comes and inspect almost every single show we do and has not said a word about aisle lighting. In fact they just installed a brand new fire alarm system about a month ago, now when the fire alarm goes off all of our house lighting turns on automatically and our sound system and air handlers shut down automatically too. All of our exit signs are clearly illuminated and visible, we do however glowtape all of the steps in the audience so they can be easily seen in the dark.
 
My understanding is that current code does require egress lighting and if you dim the house lights that means aisle lighting. If your facility was built under an older code then that requirement may not have been in place at the time it was built but any major renovation would require updating the facility to meet current code (except where you can get any documented exemptions due to factors such as historical integrity). I know of several facilities, either new or recently renovated, that had to add aisle lighting or glow strips on the edges of the steps after the fact.

The same situation can also apply to issues such as the seating arrangement, handicapped access and seating, assistive listening, lead and asbestos abatement, life safety and many other elements, a seemingly limited renovation can turn out to require major changes to the facility in order to "bring it up to code", one reason that many proposed renovations get postponed or canceled.

As far as people moving around getting what they deserve, I understand the thought but have to disagree. What about a doctor receiving an emergency page or a pregnant woman who has to go to the ladies room or an elderly gentleman who just can't wait until intermission (I'm getting to that age where I'm starting to relate to that last one)? Do you want crying children to stay? What about the ushers? All of these are reasonable causes for someone to need to move around and as a public assembly space, these patrons need to be able to do so safely.
 
Several years ago we began using our aisle lights (no one had replaced them for many years and I didn't know about them as I was new to the school). Of course this was only for our lower house...it was funny how many people would trip up or down the stairs because they couldn't see in front of themselves!
Now I make a point to check every aisle light before any production.
 
we leave the aisle lights on the whole show even during a total blackout and pluse they have battery back up in case of a power outage with house lights too. Its mostly safety reasons we leave ours on so if people have to get up and leave they can see the outline on the aisle and better footing for the steps and such.Ours are rbg so when we want to have fun rainbow mode is awesome when it is streaming through the aisles!
 
At my old high school we had aisle lights that were on dimmer which meant the board had to be on to have them on, and it's the same with the house lights. At the college I'm working at there are no aisle lights and the fire inspector hasn't ever said anything that i know of.
 
I do have aisle lights, however, alot of them are burned out. The fire marshall has never said a word about them when he's come to inspect and I've just realized that in my most recent show, they weren't written into the cues. I also have absolutely no problem with the emergency exit signs. They are there, you don't look at them, you look at what's going on on stage.

Something that I completely bugged out at was I saw that on stage where there's a fire alarm and pull station someone taped black cloth over it!!! Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until we were doing strike, but I can't believe that someone was stupid enough to do that! Thank god the fire marshall didn't see that, or someone who would have reported it for that matter. I can only imagine the wrath incurred if that were reported.
 
We have aisle lights with blue gels taped between a rectangular piece of glass and a metal faceplate. Whenever they go out I'm the one that ends up replacing them and it's irritating because a lot of the faceplates over the lights have stripped screws.

Our aisle lights aren't controlled by the board though, they're always on. The only way I know of turning them off is by turning off our circuit breakers. It's only happened once, and this place is spooky when it's completely dark. Not to mention super dangerous.
 
It really depends on your state/provincial fire codes. It is against fire code almost everywhere to shut off exit lights, but aisle lights depends. Try contacting state/provincial authorities on fire code to check with them.
 
We just moved into a brand new building on our college campus. I noticed that the latest model LED exit signs are quite a bit dimmer than what I've seen before. They are a nationally distributed, reputable brand, so I would think they meet all applicable codes. I can't imagine anyone finding them distracting.

If you have brighter, incandescent exit signs, you might not have to twist arms very hard to get them replaced. The maintenance staff loves LEDs because there are no lamps to check and replace.
 
Um you've got that very backwards my friend. The Yellow/Green wave lengths are the ones the human eye sees the best. Consequently Red light doesn't disturb your night vision nearly as much as green. Perhaps your particular red lights were too bright, but scientifically it's far better to have red exit lights than green.

Please read this: Doug Kniffen's Green Astrolights
It explains that if your think the green light is too bright, then simply turn it down if your are trying to preserve your night vision. No scientific foundation in the urban myth about red lights to preserve night vision.

As far as the brightness of the EXIT signs goes, they have to meet a brightness standard. However, some far exceed the standard, so they appear too bright for use in darkened theatres. You can't legally modify the light, so you have to shop around to find a UL listed EXIT sign that isn't too bright. The edge-light green ones with a clear panel seem to be the least glaring IMHO.

Often not considered is that the NFPA Code defines how bright the surface illumination must be at the floor, but makes no accommodation for the color or texture of the floor finish. A matte black floor at 1/5 foot-candle appears much darker than a white or unfinished concrete floor at 1/5 foot-candle.

The fire code defines the light level at the floor, not the source of the light - it can come from seat / wall mounted lights or from the ceiling, or both. The 2012 NPFA 101 specifically calls-out the illumination levels required for theatres / auditoriums in Section 7.8, this is intended to clarify any ill-perceived 'exceptions' that someone may have that somehow theatres are exempt from the rules - they are not.
 
I would say that this article is better at explaining what is going on with colored light and night vision. Certainly the green light might work for certain aspects, but red has its advantages as well.

I agree that the surface illumination on the floor should take into account the reflectivity of the surface. After all, what matters is the light that gets to the eye of the person who is traversing in the dark. The floor doesn't care how much light is being shined on it.

It takes a while for true night vision to be recovered. About 10 minutes for 10%, 30-45 minutes for 80%, the rest may take hours, days, or a week. The issue is the chemical in the eye, rhodopsin - commonly called visual purple, is broken down quickly by light. The main issue then is intensity; color is only an issue because the rods (responsible for night vision) are most sensitive at a particular color. That color is a blue-green (507nm) similar to traffic light green (which is this color for a entirely different reason). It would seem that using the lowest brightness (using this color) additional light needed for a task is the best bet to retain this dark adaptation because it allows rods to function at their best.

Unfortunately there are a number of drawbacks using only night vision.

Among these are:
•The inability to distinguish colors.
•No detail can be seen (about the same as 20/200 vision in daylight).
•That nothing can be seen directly in front of the eyes (no rods in the center of the retina), you must learn to look about 15-20° off center.
•Only motion can be detected well, therefore you may have to learn to move your eyes to detect something that doesn't move.
•Objects that aren't moving appear to move (autokinesis).
 

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