Power to Pre-action system

[mshields]

I'm working on a warehouse that has no Emergency Generator. Fire Protection engineer is putting in a pre-action system for one of the rooms. Don't remember the last time I did one of those without having Emergency or Life Safety power going to it. Is bringing normal power to this thing acceptable?

 

[ron]

The pre-action control panel is essentially a fire alarm sub-control panel that is interconnected to the building's fire alarm control panel (if not the building's panel itself), so it will have a secondary source per NFPA 72. Unless you are in some crazy place like NYC, the code just requires it to be regular building power, because the secondary power is local to the FACP, like a bugeye double head EM light with a battery pack.

 

[mshields]

The pre-action control panel is essentially a fire alarm sub-control panel that is interconnected to the building's fire alarm control panel (if not the building's panel itself), so it will have a secondary source per NFPA 72. Unless you are in some crazy place like NYC, the code just requires it to be regular building power, because the secondary power is local to the FACP, like a bugeye double head EM light with a battery pack.

Thanks Ron

 

[DM2-Inc]

Don't forget, the primary AC power has to come from a dedicated breaker, that's marked RED and has mechanical protection. The code doesn't provide guidance on how you make it RED, however I've seen people use RED fingernail polish. There are mechanical breaker lockouts you can get that are painted RED.

The secondary power will be from the panels internal battery charger and batteries.

If the application is required to meet FM standards, you need 21 Volts at the Pre-Action solenoid