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fire alarm panel

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J

jdr

Member
Location
Michigan
Situation: A commercial building where a fire alarm system is not required.
Duct detectors and horn/strobes were installed.

Question:Is a fire alarm panel or control pad required?
 
J

jtester

Senior Member
Location
Las Cruces N.M.
Re: fire alarm panel

Duct detectors are often required and installed in HVAC units with air flows greater than 2000cfm. These do not dictate the need for a fire alarm panel. Usually the local building code, here it is the IBC, will tell when you need to install a fire alarm panel.

What would you hook horn/strobes to, if not a panel? If they are installed, I'm not sure how they will work.

Jim T
 
J

jbwhite

Senior Member
Re: fire alarm panel

if there is no centeral fire alarm panel, and you are still required to have duct/smoke detectors, then you need to power them from the AC system, usually at 24vac. you need to run a set of control wires to the normaly open aux contacts on the detector and wire it such that the fan shuts down if one of the detectors is tripped. this means that the power to the detectors is wired in parallel. the contacts are wired in series.

if you have more than one ahu in the bldg, the bldg inspector may want them interlocked so that all the air handlers shut down when any one goes into alarm. you need relays for that.
 
J

jbwhite

Senior Member
Re: fire alarm panel

I missed the horn strobes thing. more relays and more wire. basicly you need to build the controls. i have run into this before.

if you need to use relays they need to have a fire alarm, rating.

If your duct detector has enough aux contacts you can use them.
 
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