From compliance to resilience, with ABB
Isabelle Crow
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Fabio Mercurio, Business Line Leader at ABB, explores how emergency lighting is shifting from passive compliance to a smart, integrated pillar of building resilience
For decades, emergency lighting systems were treated as little more than a regulatory checkbox – static, passive and often overlooked. Early systems lacked sophistication and reliability, designed merely to satisfy minimum compliance standards rather than actively support safety in a crisis.
In the wake of Covid-19 and amid rising safety expectations, emergency lighting is undergoing a transformation. No longer an afterthought, it has long since become as a foundation for safety resilience, redefining how we design, operate and safeguard modern buildings.
Drivers and disruptors
A combination of regulatory, technological and demographic factors are all contributing to the development of smarter, more sustainable and more resilient solutions in The emergency lighting industry’s evolution.
Regulatory pressures are among the biggest drivers. Across the globe, the introduction of more stringent safety codes and compliance requirements is raising expectations around performance, reliability and ease of maintenance.
One of the contributing factors driving the introduction of stricter regulations is aging infrastructure – increasingly susceptible to faults – which is creating additional urgency for reliable emergency lighting solutions that meet safety standards and perform in critical situations.
Technological innovation is also enabling faster and more cost-effective compliance. Advances in LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting technology, now the de facto standard for modern systems, are delivering energy savings of up to 60% over traditional fluorescent systems, combined with longer lifespans and reduced maintenance costs.
Meanwhile, the shift to lithium batteries offers greater reliability and sustainability, significantly reducing the frequency of replacements.
Fabio Mercurio
In parallel, digitalisation is accelerating the adoption of IoT-enabled fixtures, centralised monitoring and automated self-testing systems, helping to ease labour demands, enable predictive maintenance and improve overall system reliability.
Rapid urbanisation and operational pressure are also playing a role in reshaping expectations. With 68% of the world’s population expected to live in urban areas by 2050, demand is rising for robust systems that can safeguard high-occupancy spaces in the event of disruption, while also supporting business continuity.
As such building owners and operators are seeking out future proof solutions that not only meet compliance needs but also support broader operational resilience goals and reduce total cost of ownership.
Together, these factors are shaping the design and functionality of today’s emergency lighting solutions, with a growing focus on energy savings, automation and integration.
Sustainable, smarter and more integrated
In addition to their low energy consumption and extended lifespan, LEDs are commonly paired with lithium batteries and sustainable materials such as recyclable plastics. The result is a modern lighting system designed to minimise both environmental impact and maintenance costs throughout its lifecycle.
ABB’s recently launched EcoSolutions reflect this approach, integrating energy-efficient components and recyclable materials to support sustainable building goals.
Fabio Mercurio
ABB EcoSolutions™ products are developed in line with the company’s circularity framework, incorporating more sustainable materials, energy-efficient components and end-of-life considerations such as take-back services and recyclability. Each product is accompanied by a third-party verified Type III Environmental Product Declaration, with lifecycle data accessible via QR code.
Emergency lighting is also getting smarter. IoT-enabled systems and automated testing tools are helping to ease the operational burden on facility management teams, especially as the industry contends with a global shortage of skilled technical labour. A 2024 ManpowerGroup report into the global talent shortage found that 75% of global employers are struggling to find the talent they need.
IoT-enabled LED systems are a major growth driver for the emergency lighting market, with increasing adoption across the commercial and industrial building sectors.
Fabio Mercurio
When integrated with building management systems, the solutions enable remote, real-time monitoring and centralised control. Faults can be detected before they become critical, allowing for proactive maintenance, rapid response times and reduced operational costs.
Automated self-testing systems can help to simplify the process, performing necessary checks and reporting on any issues detected without the need for manual intervention. However, it’s important to distinguish between standalone self-testing units, which still rely on manual status checks and fully monitored systems that offer centralised oversight, real-time diagnostics and streamlined compliance reporting.
While both approaches ensure regulatory compliance, fully automated monitored systems also enhance overall reliability, delivering much-needed peace of mind to building operators and owners. ABB’s Naveo®Pro and Nexus®Pro platforms, used in buildings across Europe and North America, reflect this shift by enabling automated testing and compliance at scale.
Looking ahead, the next generation of emergency lighting will be cloud-connected, intelligent and fully interoperable.
Fabio Mercurio
These systems won’t just respond, they’ll integrate seamlessly with broader building technologies to enable faster, smarter action in critical moments.
AI may also play a growing role in this evolution, with future systems able to dynamically adapt their behaviour based on the specific nature and severity of an emergency. Instead of simply illuminating standard exit routes, AI-powered lighting could prioritise alternative paths, issue targeted voice or visual alerts in real time and even coordinate with fire alarms and emergency services to support a more effective response.
Progress at pace
The pace and nature of adoption differs significantly from country to country. These variations are influenced by regional regulations, infrastructure maturity, differing levels of risk tolerance, as well as the historical development of building safety standards.
With a large construction sector, long-standing safety standards and a growing emphasis on energy efficiency, the US is a key player in the global emergency lighting sector.
Fabio Mercurio
According to a Research and Markets’ report, North America was the largest region in 2024, accounting for around a third of the global market share. While Europe is seen as setting the pace on regulatory pressure and carbon reduction targets, North America’s scale and investment continue to shape the industry’s development.
Europe’s emergency lighting market generated $1.816 billion in revenue in 2024 – a figure expected to climb to $3.503 billion by 2030. This growth is driven by well-established regulations mandating effective emergency lighting in public buildings, alongside sustainable, energy-efficient solutions.
In the Middle East and Asia, rapid urbanisation, ambitious construction projects, such as Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion NEOM megaproject and growing investment in smart technologies is fuelling demand for intelligent, integrated emergency lighting solutions.
Latin America, by contrast, has been slower to adopt advanced emergency lighting systems, in part due to limited fire safety regulations. However, growing awareness of international best practices is leading to gradual adoption.
Emergency lighting is no longer just about compliance; it’s become central to resilient building strategies worldwide. With industry embracing sustainability, digitalisation and integration, emergency lighting is stepping into a new role: an active, intelligent safeguard that supports building safety even in the most critical situations.