Control Panel

[empiric]

Hi,
For a Grade A Type LD2 system, please, what are the requirements/characteristics of the control and indicating equipment which meets BS EN 54-2

Thanks

[Graeme]

The same as a part 1 panel

[empiric]

Unfortunately I don't know what they are for a part 1 panel, please elucidate

[Allen Higginson]

A fire alarm panel as fitted in premises other than those covered by Part 6 (from which the grade/category you have stated comes from) (can be a box with silence,mute and reset on the front with led indication up to a microprocessor based system).
In a nutshell,google fire alarm control panel manufacturer and take your pick from a list of hundreds (well,maybe tens!)
Check Haes,C-TEC,KENTEC amongst others.

[Wiz]

Empiric, I'm assuming that as you are a newbie you might not have even a basic understanding of fire alarm systems.

Further to previous answers, the control panel is the heart of a fire alarm system. It generally provides power, system fault monitoring and fire condition indication and some control of elements of the fire alarm system.

The standard you mention in your post gives detailed recommendations on the technical specification of the design and operation etc. of the type of control panels stated.

If you just want to buy one of these control panels then use the suggestions provided by Buzz because they can all supply equipment to BS EN54

If you want to know the specific details of BS EN54-2, then just buy a copy of the document from British Standards and read up on it.

[empiric]

Thanks for your advice, I am trying to make sure that we get a good system without paying silly money for it. The building is listed and wood panelled so we have been looking at wireless systems and some of them are very expensive

[Allen Higginson]

Unfortunately,it really is a case of "you get what you pay for" in my 20 year experience so you need to decide do you want to compromise reliability for price.
If it is a listed building with limited or no access from above ceiling level (ie,the installation could only be installed surface mounted) then wireless is the answer, although you could go for a hybrid addressable system using a mixture of hard wired addressable devices (where possible) with radio interfaces and devices ( this for example with Apollo XP95 or DISCOVERY devices and suitable control panel - http://www.apollo-fire.co.uk/xpander-main-page.html ).

[Wiz]

Thanks for your advice, I am trying to make sure that we get a good system without paying silly money for it. The building is listed and wood panelled so we have been looking at wireless systems and some of them are very expensive

From my experience I think you will find that the installed cost of a wired addressable and an installed wireless system is very similar on all but the smallest systems. For small systems the wired system will be cheaper.

From my experience you will find that the on-going maintenance costs for wireless systems are considerably higher than for wired systems.

However, if you have listed building or other 'difficult' installation problems then wireless is the answer. Also the time and inconvenience to the normal operation of a building during system installation is greatly reduced with wireless.

Buzz's suggestion of a hybrid wired/wireless is a good one and is proving increasingly popular these days.

Ask your friendly local fire alarm specialists to give you advice and quotations. Try for at least three and preferably five different quotations. Don't necessarily chose the cheapest but the one that appears to meet all your requirements. Even then ask for references from previous customers.

[kurnal]

Hi empiric
I assume  you have carried out a fire risk assessment and this has identified a Grade A system as the most appropriate type of system?
Or has this come as an insurers or enforcement offiers suggestion?

Not questioning your decision, just suggesting that you should be absolutely clear that in your case a Grade A  LD2 system as described by BS5839 part 8 is the best and most cost effective solution.

[Clevelandfire 3]

Further to the above post here is a general description of the fire alarm system you are asking for plus some other pointers for you to consider Empiric. My desciprtion is put in laymans terms so I hope Wiz or Buzz won't pick me up on technicalities.

Basically a Grade A system is a system which incorporates a fire alarm panel and manual call points as well as fire detectors. A manual call point is a red box you smash to set off the fire alarms manually.

A grade A system is particularly useful in large buildings as generally the control panel will show which zone a fire detector or break glass call point has been activated in. Control panels can be programmed to zone certain areas. Zone 1 could be for example the ground floor, zone two the first floor, and so on.

This is handy for when the fire crews or your fire wardens to pin point the cause of activation. Some control panels can even pin point the exact location of where a detector has been activated - for example it might show  "ground floor - front lounge" or "first floor bedroom no.43" - but these systems are complex and more expensive than bog standard control panels which just show zones.

In smaller buildings less than three storeys (ground first and second) where all areas can be checked quickly then you may only need a Grade D which doesn't have call points or a control panel.

The LD2 designation means that all escape routes and rooms off the escape routes should be fitted with fire detection. If all rooms are occupied by people for the duration the building is occupied (lets say all rooms are offices and the building is staffed nine to five) then those people effectively become your fire detectors - if the building has people wandering about all areas then do you need fire detection at all?   i.e; people will quickly realise a fire has occured and will alert everyone that there is a fire occurring manually - so do you need fire detection you could get away with people shotuing " fire get out" at the very least or in bigger buildings where the shout of fire wont be heard in all areas you could just have a manual fire alarm where someone sees a fire and sets of the alarm via a manual call point.

So its important to know what the classification of fire alarms are and the grade that you need.

[David Rooney]

Unfortunately,it really is a case of "you get what you pay for" in my 20 year experience so you need to decide do you want to compromise reliability for price.
If it is a listed building with limited or no access from above ceiling level (ie,the installation could only be installed surface mounted) then wireless is the answer, although you could go for a hybrid addressable system using a mixture of hard wired addressable devices (where possible) with radio interfaces and devices ( this for example with Apollo XP95 or DISCOVERY devices and suitable control panel - http://www.apollo-fire.co.uk/xpander-main-page.html ).

I'd still go for the Argus Vega hybrid myself simply cos you have a full range of radio devices you can use... (and up to 32 per translator as opposed to 16) .... When Advanced release their new panel in a month or so it will be a very very good bit of kit....

[Allen Higginson]

Looks like our kit!

[FSO]

The LD2 designation means that all escape routes and rooms off the escape routes should be fitted with fire detection.

Where does it say that in part 6?

[Allen Higginson]

It doesn't - it says in circulation areas,escape routes and areas presenting a high fire risk to the occupants (which is decided by a risk assesment,as indicated in clause 4).

[FSO]

exactly