Addressing Superior Fire Detection

Analog Addressable Lends Itself to Environmental Trending

Analog addressable technology has advanced to the point where the central processor is able to determine environmental trends within a building. 

“I think that one of the most important trends in the last few years is intelligent sensing. What that is, is the use of the sensor algorithm and the processing power within the fire alarm panel to make important decisions based upon trends in the environment,” says Peter Ebersold, director of marketing with Northford, Conn.-based Notifier, a Honeywell company. 

“For example, if the smoke level rises over time in a typical nonaddressable smoke detector, an alarm will eventually result. But in an analog addressable environment, the panel may decide to ignore this trend if it only involves a single detector,” Ebersold adds. 

A good example of this might be the ballast inside a nearby florescent light. Ebersold says that the panel in this case may have queried multiple smoke heads in the general vicinity in order to determine how widespread the lightly detected smoke is. 

The analog addressable processor can go out and measure the smoke level experienced by other smoke detectors in the same room in real-time. If only the one “sees” a low level of smoke, the panel might decide to issue a supervisory alert rather than an alarm signal. Upon investigation, management may very well find someone is smoking near that single detector. 

“These systems can involve more than one smoke detector in the decision-making process,” says Ebersold. “Our own laser smoke detector is capable of sensing the electronics going bad in a nearby radio or some other device. Where traditional systems would probably ignore such low levels of smoke, intelligent analog addressable systems can initiate a trouble or supervisory condition to get someone’s attention.”

There are other types of false alarm causes that relate to human activity where analog addressable systems with environmental trending can prevent false alarms. Examples include strong cleaning solutions used by cleaning crews and airborne dust in manufacturing.

The power of analog addressable technology allows the fire alarm panel to measure the response of several detectors in the same vicinity to ascertain risk so an intelligent decision can be made as to a proper response. 

Addressable Technology Reduces Installation and Service Costs

Conventional fire alarm systems commonly utilize zones of detection where addressable systems are capable of identifying individual points. Conventional fire alarm systems use what is called initiating device circuits (IDCs) and addressable systems employ signaling line circuits (SLCs). This single difference sets the stage for tremendous savings on the installation side, especially as the cost of addressable systems continue to decline. 

For example, from an installation standpoint, addressable systems take less time to install because d
evices are daisy-chained instead of home-run, thus they require less wire. And because there is less wire to install addressable systems take less time to implement, thus reducing installation time. 

Addressable systems also save the end user money when it comes time to service their fire alarm system. 

“We just replaced a 10-zone conventional fire panel that had 150 conventional smoke detectors on it. Every time one of them caused an alarm, someone reset the system instead of going out to find out which one caused it,” says Joe Mesich, president with Advanced Technical Services of Gallup, N.M. “With an addressable system, we can quickly locate the problem using the panel’s event log, fix it, and we’re out the door.” 

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

Security Is Our Business, Too

For professionals who recommend, buy and install all types of electronic security equipment, a free subscription to Commercial Integrator + Security Sales & Integration is like having a consultant on call. You’ll find an ideal balance of technology and business coverage, with installation tips and techniques for products and updates on how to add to your bottom line.

A FREE subscription to the top resource for security and integration industry will prove to be invaluable.

Subscribe Today!

Get Our Newsletters