Emergency lighting is an important consideration with lighting controls. First, general lighting should not be able to be switched or dimmed in an application if doing so might compromise the safety of occupants. Second, emergency lighting itself generally should not be switched by occupants or automatic lighting controls. 

This section provides general guidelines. Consult the Life Safety Code, NFPA 101 and state and local regulations and fire codes for more information.

Normal Operation
For safety’s sake, normal control operation should not cause the lights to switch OFF and leave occupants in the dark without a clear warning and an option to override the shutoff.
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Emergency Lighting
Emergency lighting required by code should not be controlled by automatic shutoff controls but instead operate continuously, as in the case of exit signs, or when needed during a power failure, as in the case of emergency units.
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Backup Generator Operation
In the event of a power failure, the scheduling control system can respond by shedding non-critical loads to help keep critical operations running, a strategy called load preservation.
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