System Sensor Europe

System Sensor Europe, the world's largest manufacturer of smoke detectors, has published a free thirty-two page guide to intelligent fire systems, intended as a generic reference document for designers and specifiers. It explains the various system categories defined in the relevant specification, BS5839 part 1: 2002 and shows how to calculate detector positioning and spacing in every conceivable situation: flat ceilings, obstructed and sloping ceilings, areas where portioning or racking is fitted and in corridors and stairwells. It provides an overview of the principles of operation of an intelligent fire system, describing the different types of detectors, sounders and modules available. The guide also gives straightforward advice to help the specifier decide which type of detector - photoelectric smoke, multi-criteria smoke and heat detector or fixed or rate of rise thermal detector, or, for large open areas, a beam detector - should be installed in each location in the protected premises to meet the requirements of BS5839 part 1.

The guide is a companion volume to the company's guide to conventional systems and its application guide for the use of beam detectors published last year. It details the benefits and additional features available in an intelligent system, the principles of system design and operation, and the different communication protocols used by various manufacturers. The guide also includes details of System Sensor's Series 200 plus addressable point and beam detectors, bases, modules, sounders, strobes and beak glass call points.

All guides are freely available on request.