Integrating a conventional fire alarm system with an addressable fire alarm system

[joenate1983]

If you would like to separate device types on separate zones, how many are you planning on? You have smoke detectors, pull stations, heat detectors, duct detectors, tampers, and waterflows, just to name the most common. You're not supposed to put multiple floors on the same zone, so we're looking at 6 zones per floor, easy. What's the largest conventional panel you can buy these days? The largest conventional panel you can buy these days is 10 zones. I hope your facility is a single floor, not to mention the horrendous cost of labor to install all those home runs.

I think you meant to respond to Tainted

 

[Tainted]

If you would like to separate device types on separate zones, how many are you planning on? You have smoke detectors, pull stations, heat detectors, duct detectors, tampers, and waterflows, just to name the most common. You're not supposed to put multiple floors on the same zone, so we're looking at 6 zones per floor, easy. What's the largest conventional panel you can buy these days? The largest conventional panel you can buy these days is 10 zones. I hope your facility is a single floor, not to mention the horrendous cost of labor to install all those home runs.

It's a mixed occupancy building and the contractor will need to trace and provide me as-builts so that I can design it in a way where conventional and addressable can co-exist together. Unfortunately no way of knowing what's on what zone at the moment.

 

[joenate1983]

It's a mixed occupancy building and the contractor will need to trace and provide me as-builts so that I can design it in a way where conventional and addressable can co-exist together. Unfortunately no way of knowing what's on what zone at the moment.

You’d need to get the last inspection report. If the report is available, you’d then have to hope they labeled the location and zone assignment of each device. If not, you can activate each device one by one and note the zone assignment.

Doing all of this, though, it’s just best to convince the customer to tear it out and upgrade to an addressable system. See, this is why I turn down projects like this. If the customer doesn’t have sufficient funds or wants to cheap skate on their LIFE SAFETY SYSTEM, I turn it down. It ain’t worth what litttle profit you’ll make after all of the labor invested. They can pay a premium in labor or bite the bullet and upgrade their system.

 

[gadfly56]

I think you meant to respond to Tainted

"let's say zone 1 is all 1st floor pull stations."

I assumed, perhaps rashly, that you were advocating this kind of separation for all devices on a conventional zone panel

 

[joenate1983]

"let's say zone 1 is all 1st floor pull stations."

I assumed, perhaps rashly, that you were advocating this kind of separation for all devices on a conventional zone panel

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