ADDRESSABLE TYPE FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
Addressable Fire Alarm Systems differ from conventional systems in a number of ways and certainly add more flexibility, intelligence, speed of identification and scope of control. For this reason Addressable Fire Alarm Systems are the natural choice for larger premises and more complex system requirements. In an addressable system detectors are wired in a loop around the building with each detector having its own unique 'address'. The system may contain one or more loops depending upon the size of the system and design requirements. The Fire Control Panel 'communicates' with each detector individually and receives a status report, i.e. 'Healthy', 'In Alarm' or 'In Fault', etc. As each detector has an individual 'address' the fire alarm control panel is able to display/indicate the precise location of the device in question, which obviously helps speed the location of an incident and for this reason 'zoning' of the system is not necessary, although it may be done for convenience.
Addressable fire alarm systems offer benefits in speed of detection, identification of the location of a fire and easier maintenance. Addressable fire alarm systems also offer tolerance to faults in the system wiring, which allows a single pair of wires to be used to connect up to 200 devices to the system, allowing cost savings in the wiring of large systems. In larger installations, the benefits of improved maintenance and reduced cabling cost are overwhelming. The price difference between Addressable systems and conventional systems has narrowed to such an extent that even for small installations, the use of an Addressable fire alarm system should be considered.
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