Fire Alarm technology advances
As code changes so does the industry.
Larry.Love@JCI.com 801 898 6003 Larry Love NICET II Fire Alarm #107204
If your technology is old you are putting lives at risk. The new fire alarm systems can do much more than you used to be able to do.
IBC/IFC 2021 code now requires Low Frequency sounder bases on the residential smoke alarms in apartment buildings and hotels.
Smoke alarms are the 120Volt smokes with 9 volt battery backup that are not normally tied into the fire alarm systems.
If you have a relay base on one of them we can tie them into the fire alarm system with a monitor module on each room.
The old ADA requirements would allow the GENTEX Smoke Horn Strobe combo that was a 120 volt unit although now you need to install low frequency in sounder bases in system smoke detectors or low frequency horns and horn strobes on the NAC circuits.
The old Mini Horns would only draw 17mA and now the new Low Frequency Horn Strobes draw over 343mA so you cannot put near as many on a circuit.
New LED appliances are coming out that have a lower current draw although the low frequency does draw more current.
One concern with this code is that currently no residential 120V smokes have low frequency sounder bases.
The concern is that the owner does not want to evacuate the whole building just because someone burns toast so with our addressable systems we can program no only the system smoke detectors (24 volt that tie to the system) but we can program the horns and horn strobes or speaker strobes. We can program the horns to just sound in the unit or if there is a general alarm on a hallway smoke we can program all the horn strobes in the building to go off.
We can also program the system if one smoke goes into alarm it won’t evacuate the building although if 2 go into alarm we can sound all the horn strobes.
Call Larry.Love@JCI.com 801 898 6003 for assistance with what can be done and what cannot be done. Many manufacturers cannot make changes in the horn strobes for when they sound and when they don’t because their horn strobes are not addressable like the SIMPLEX horn strobes are.