Communication traffic on large networked fire alarm systems presents interesting engineering challenges. Fire systems are expected to respond immediately to fire alarm incidents, even when the network is busy.

To address these challenges, the Pertronic F220-Net2 network system incorporates smart communication management algorithms. Using these algorithms, the network continually adapts to traffic conditions, ensuring that all network display units show critical information immediately it is available.

Australian Standard AS 7240.13:2021 requires an alarm activation on one fire panel to appear on all the other networked fire panels within 20 seconds. However, a single alarm signal does not represent real world conditions. A fire alarm system will record dozens of events during a fire alarm incident.

Some recent tests capture the F220-Net2 network’s capabilities. We built a network with 156 F220 fire panels and seven additional network nodes. We disconnected the network cable between fire panels ten and eleven, to simulate a network fault. This also forced signals from panel 11 to pass through every network node before reaching panel 10.

We initiated 468 device disablements. While the system was processing these commands, we triggered an alarm on panel 11. The alarm appeared on a network display at node 10 within 7 seconds. In another test, we triggered an alarm on fire panel 11 while the network was processing 27 alarm signals. The additional alarm appeared on the network display at node 10 within 20 seconds.

The Pertronic F220-Net2 network’s communication management system has been proven in a variety of situations. Commercial developments such as 180 & 192 Ann Street have networked fire panels with thousands of devices per panel. Motorway tunnels have large numbers of fire panels, with each panel monitoring a few tens of devices. Feedback from installers and users confirms the excellent performance of F220-Net2 networks in all configurations.

Consider specifying Pertronic equipment for your next big fire alarm system. You and your customers will be very happy with the result.