This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Jouellette, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Exit signs in smoke: Design parameters for greater visibility

National Research Council of Canada, Institute for Research in Construction, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6

A review of regulations and specifications for internally illuminated exit signs recommended or enforced by various sanctioning bodies in Canada, Great Britain and elsewhere reveals omissions and inconsistencies which may compromise the safety of building occupants in smoke. Since these problems are partly due to lack of conclusive research, a controlled psychophysical experiment was conducted to assess the readability of three common exit sign design features (i.e. the various combinations of opaque and transilluminated text and backgrounds) under different levels of smoke density and ambient illumination. The sign designs differed greatly in terms of threshold illuminance at the rear of the signs (analogous to the intensity of the sign's light source), but all were similar in terms of the threshold luminance of the sign's front panel. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for improved building codes.

Lighting Research and Technology, Vol. 20, No. 4, 155-160 (1988)
DOI: 10.1177/096032718802000402


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?