Addressable System Design
What is Addressable System Design?
Addressable system design is the opposite of a conventional system design (non-addressable system design), which consists of devices connected to the control panel by individual wires. Addressable panels, instead, have detector devices connected through a loop to the central control panel.
But, that’s not the only difference…
To start with, addressable systems mainly consist of fire, gas, smoke, and security breach detection devices. The great part of these devices is that a single device can have triple detection technologies: heat, gas, and smoke.
In an emergency situation, timely response and notification to the central monitoring system is critical. Conventional fire alarm systems, for instance, fail to identify the exact locations of devices in complex and large buildings such as university campuses, high-rise commercial premises, and hospitals. This is where comes in with unrivaled addressable system designs that detect problems instantly and notify the emergency personnel promptly so that necessary steps can be taken.
A second could mean a matter of life and death in an emergency situation. For instance, life could be lost or property could suffer extensive damages while conventional fire alarm systems are still struggling to spot a specific device that triggered the emergency in a complex building structure.
Conventional system designs are not generally bad, however; they can work well in small and medium buildings as they function well with zonings. Basically, they point to a specific zone where the problem could be. Imagine such a direction in a multi-level building; it could impede the response time.
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What are the main differences between addressable and conventional system designs?
Quick Response : As highlighted already, addressable system designs respond faster than conventional system designs by pinpointing the exact location and identification of the device that triggered the alarm. Every homeowner would appreciate such a prompt and precise response so that the occupants could be redirected to certain evacuation exits.
Installation Cost Reduction : As your MEP partner of choice, we strive to save you costs. Although conventional alarm systems generally cost lesser than addressable panels, their installation costs can be exorbitant in that they require many wires. Again, a single wire failure could be catastrophic to the system.
An addressable design, on the other hand, reduces the costs of installation. The system might be expensive but the convenience, quick response and the programming ability justify its costs.
False Alarm Minimization : False alarms could be costly to the buildings. False activation of sprinkler systems in a water-sensitive room, for instance, can be destructive to your equipment thus letting you incur unnecessary costs. Such false alarms are notorious with conventional systems that get triggered easily by, for example, a dust build-up in a smoke detector device.
Addressable fire alarm system designs are configured to avoid false triggers. In a smoke detector, an addressable system may be programmed to monitor a build-up of soil to notify technicians so that necessary actions are taken. For these reasons, these systems are immune to false alarms.
Flexibility : Our addressable system design is flexible and easy to use. From the installation to the usage, it’s an absolute breeze to use this system. Only a qualified MEP engineer can be able to configure and program the system due to its complexities.
The other flexibility of the system is that each device can be programmed independently without affecting the entire system. You can disconnect the other side of the loop from the control panel when addressing the other device but the panel will still receive signals from the remaining side of the loop.
Using the integrated pad and the display screen, an addressable fire alarm system is easily configured. Even when installing the software, you can use the USB interface to achieve that off-site.
Reliability : An addressable system design, unlike a conventional system design, connects all devices through a loop that attaches at two points to the control panel. And so, if one side of the loop fails, the other side will continue functioning. This makes the system very reliable. With only two wires connecting the devices, it’s highly unlikely for our addressable fire alarm system to fail. Besides, the control panel always notifies our technicians if there’s any problem so we can act as early as possible.
Conventional systems’ reliability is only limited to small and medium buildings. In large buildings reliability is a main concern and as thus it jeopardizes the lives of many occupants and the exorbitantly expensive high-rise structure.
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