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In the European market, the share of addressable analogue fire alarm systems exceeds 70% due to the fact that they provide such a high level of protection for the facility that the insurance discount reaches up to 50% due to the reduced risk of fire. Russia is trying to take the same “rational” path of development, and highly reliable systems are becoming increasingly popular in Russia. This article discusses the advantages of addressable analogue systems and their main component – an addressable analogue fire alarm.
Addressable-analog systems and fire detectors have been written about many times. Much has also been said about the fact that the definition of «addressable-analog fire detectors» is still missing from the current regulatory framework. However, based on the classification of fire detectors according to GOST R 53325 — 2009, paragraph 4.1.1.9, it follows that «According to the ability to set an address, fire detectors are divided into non-addressable and addressable», and «According to the nature of information exchange, fire detectors are divided into threshold and analog» — paragraph 4.1.1.2. Using the laws of combinatorics, we can get four options, if we do not take into account the type of controlled feature or the nature of the reaction to fires. Let's consider each of them, assessing both the detector itself and the fire alarm system in which it operates.
Non-addressable thresholdfire alarm – the most common in Russia. This alarm has minimal efficiency and reliability. Much has been written about this, but they continue to be used due to the fact that they are cheaper. And no one thinks about the fact that significant amounts will be spent during operation. According to some experts, over 10 years of operation, an amount seven to eight times greater than the initial cost of the equipment will be spent
Addressable thresholdfire alarm – this combination is quite common on our market. So common that the word “threshold” is omitted, calling such alarms simply addressable. The main difference from a non-addressable alarm is that the alarm reports its address. Good addressable alarms additionally transmit information about dustiness, malfunction of a specific alarm, etc. There are many offers for addressable systems on the market.
Non-addressable analogfire alarm. No one makes such alarms. Manufacturers consider it inappropriate to make an analog alarm non-addressable, since the cost will be high, and the efficiency of fire detection will be practically non-existent.
Addressable analogfire alarm. Unlike addressable ones, addressable-analog fire alarms do not record the excess of the threshold of the controlled parameter, but are only measuring devices. They must measure the level of smoke, temperature and other factors in real time with high accuracy. The information received is analyzed in an addressable-analog receiving and control device (AARCD), which is, in fact, a specialized computer that allows detecting the development of a fire at the earliest stages. The capabilities of the AARCD are practically unlimited, with the help of this device, the following functions can be implemented:
adaptation modes for specific tasks of the facility;
interactive algorithms for each room;
automatic system training, etc.
The system generates preliminary signals when a fire hazard situation is suspected long before the threshold or addressable detector is triggered. The advantages of such systems are obvious: it is possible to detect a fire hazard situation and stop its development at an extremely early stage. At the same time, both material damage and losses associated with the evacuation of people, interruption of the production process and, in fact, with extinguishing the fire are minimized.
How does the exchange of information between the addressable analog detector and the AAPCP occur? First, let's consider a threshold detector, which is a thing in itself, with a built-in algorithm for detecting fires, only occasionally giving the user the opportunity to make minimal changes to the sensitivity setting. It makes the decision «we're on fire» and sends a command to the loop of the threshold fire alarm system.
The addressable threshold behaves almost similarly, only slightly supplementing the information about its serial number and (in good systems) information about its technical condition, such as: dustiness, operability, etc.
The addressable analog detector is a logical continuation of the development of digital information processing. As was said earlier, in this case, the reins of power are not in the fire detector, but in the AAPCP. The detector itself has turned into a high-quality meter of analog information, which determines and transmits the quantitative characteristic of the controlled fire factor.
If in threshold fire detectors only the parameters of the current in the loop change when triggered, then the addressable analog fire detector constantly communicates with the AAPCP in the polling mode. «Telegrams» are constantly transmitted between the system components via the addressable analog bus. The AAPCP makes a request in the form of:
In response, the addressable analog fire detector transmits information of the following content:
Why do such complex algorithms appear? This is the unrivaled advantage of addressable analog fire alarm systems, consisting in the huge hardware and software resource of the AAPCP. And this allows you to quickly, throughout the entire periphery, monitor fire factors in real time, taking into account previous data for an arbitrarily long period, analyze information received from other detectors located nearby. To evaluate the advantage of such a solution, let's consider a standard fire development algorithm.
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