Uniformat D5090

Exit sign

Also called exit light, running man sign

Confidence C
Version 0.2.0 (permanent link)
Reviewed 2026-10-21

Service life

7.5 yearsmedian of the stated lives · sources say 5–10 years

Years in service. The band runs from the shortest to the longest life the sources state, so it shows how much they disagree, not how long 80% of units last. The line is the median of the stated lives.

Basis

5–10 years · CNA e-Tool Estimated Useful Life Table, p15 · HUD CNA 3.6.2.6 “Emergency lights, illuminated signs” — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (planning life)
Family properties 5 years, elderly 10. US multifamily housing. HUD gives emergency lights and illuminated signs one row.

How sources are chosen and recorded: sourcing policy.

Municipal lives for electrical (D50)

35 municipalities in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta state a life for electrical as a whole, in 27 distinct tables: 10–50 years, median 20. These come from capital asset policies: accounting lives, used for amortization. They describe the system rather than this component, and none is a measured life.

Years. Each dot is one stated life and each bar a stated range; equal values stack. The dashed line is the median. Policies that copy the same table count once.

All 37 stated lives

Municipality	As written	Years	Kind	Source
Kingston	Electrical Equipment	10	accounting	p15 · 2016
Grey Highlands	Exterior Lighting	15	accounting	p11 · 2026
Meaford	Electrical - Exterior Lighting	15	accounting	p17 · 2020
The Blue Mountains	Exterior Lighting	15	accounting	p11 · 2019
Fort St. James, Revelstoke, Rossland, Tumbler Ridge · same table	Electrical/Plumbing/Fire	15–20	accounting	p5, p9, p7, p5 · 2010
Okanagan-Similkameen	Electrical/Plumbing/Fire	15–20	accounting	p11 · 2023
Salmo	Electrical/Plumbing/Fire	15–20	accounting	p6 · 2016
Lloydminster	Permanent Structures - Electrical	20	accounting	p11 · 2023
Lloydminster	Portable Structures - Electrical	20	accounting	p11 · 2023
Comox Valley	HVAC systems, mechanical, plumbing, wiring, etc.	20	accounting	p6 · 2010
Cranbrook	HVAC, plumbing, lighting, etc	20	accounting	p9 · 2010
Parksville	Electrical Infrastructure	20	accounting	p9 · 2023
Telkwa	Electrical/Plumbing/Fire	20	accounting	p8
Amherstburg	Mechanical/Electrical - HVA, Lighting, Security systems, Electrical Panel	20	accounting	p8 · 2026
Grey Highlands	Interior Lighting	20	accounting	p11 · 2026
Grey Highlands	Ice Surface Lighting	20	accounting	p11 · 2026
Kenora	Buildings - Electrical System	20	accounting	p15 · 2026
London	Building Components - Services (HVAC, lighting, communication, plumbing etc.)	20	accounting	p2 · 2023
Meaford	Electrical - Interior Lighting - Standard	20	accounting	p17 · 2020
Meaford	Electrical - Interior Lighting - High Wattage	20	accounting	p17 · 2020
Meaford	Electrical - Emergency Lighting	20	accounting	p17 · 2020
The Blue Mountains	Interior Lighting	20	accounting	p11 · 2019
The Blue Mountains	Ice Surface Lighting	20	accounting	p11 · 2019
Welland	HVAC/Electrical/Mechanical	20	accounting	p8 · 2021
Vulcan County	HVAC (electrical, mechanical)	20–30	accounting	p5 · 2024
Duncan, North Cowichan · same table	Building Other (Electrical, Mechanical, etc.)	25	accounting	p17, p9 · 2011
Tofino	Systems - mechanical, electrical, HVAC	25	accounting	p12 · 2009
Greater Napanee	E25 Plant Mechanical & Electrical	25	accounting	p16 · 2012
Kirkland Lake	Buildings and Improvements - Mechanical/Electrical	25	accounting	p10 · 2020
Rainy River	Building Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing	25	accounting	p11 · 2010
The Blue Mountains	Electrical System	25	accounting	p11 · 2019
Bancroft, Centre Hastings, Hastings Highlands, Wollaston · same table	Electrical/Plumbing	25–30	accounting	p5, p4, p6, p5
Brockton	Mechanical/Electrical (Heating/Cooling System, Refridgerating System)	40	accounting	p2 · 2009
Greater Madawaska, Quinte West · same table	Electrical	40	accounting	p17, p38 · 2025
Simcoe	Electrical	40	accounting	p19 · 2025
Trent Lakes	Electrical	40	accounting	p10 · 2009
Meaford	Electrical - System	50	accounting	p17 · 2020

Each row was matched to its page automatically: the label and the number appear in the text of the cited page. An editor has not yet compared every row with the table, so follow the page link before relying on one. About the policies · All approved rows as JSON

Preventive maintenance

3 tasks in 1 work order.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12Annual

Months from the schedule start. Download the tasks as CSV for a CMMS, or ask the MCP tool get_pm_schedule for dated visits.

Annual · 3 tasks

Source: UFC 3-601-02 Fire Protection Systems Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance (7 October 2021, with Change 1, 18 April 2025), Table 2-28 Egress Marking System ITM Tasks

Task	Page
Inspect exit sign condition and mounting	p86
Check exit sign lamp or light source works	p86
Run battery-backed exit signs on battery for 90 minutes	p86

Frequencies are ISO 8601 durations in the data (P3M = every 3 months).

Open questions

Only one source so far: HUD planning lives for US multifamily housing. Canadian and observed sources are needed.

Know the answer? Send it with a source to [email protected].

Cite this

Citation

unfinished.one (2026). Exit sign, v0.2.0. https://unfinished.one/c/exit-sign/v/0.2.0

BibTeX

@misc{unfinished_exit_sign_0_2_0,
  title = {Exit sign},
  author = {{unfinished.one}},
  year = {2026},
  version = {0.2.0},
  url = {https://unfinished.one/c/exit-sign/v/0.2.0},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}

Licence CC BY 4.0 · How to cite · JSON · Versions: 0.2.0, 0.1.0