Revolutionizing Fire Protection
Emerging technologies will bring building automation systems together
- By Ralph Jensen
- Oct 01, 2009
The revolution in building automation has many facets. Hold it in the
palm of your hand, and each facet sparkles like a ruby. The geometric
shape includes critical roles of access control, video, fire protection
and mass notification, and the underlying symmetry might be whether
or not security and fire systems should share the same network.
Opinions vary about the network and its role, but all agree on the
criticality of bandwidth.
Make Room for Video
“Video consumes a large portion of the bandwidth,” said Joe Mc-
Callum, manager of sales engineers at AMAG. “One thing end
users must keep in mind in sharing the network; you don’t want
any delays in offering fire protection.”
Even though IP over the network wasn’t around on Sept. 11,
2001, responders were able to view recorded video of the terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center. What transpired that day has
provided valuable lessons for building automation.
S
oftware selection is vital as it ensures signals can be sent to
any door for access control purposes, and in a campus setting, it
elminates storage and bandwidth issues. However, a central storage
location may best suit building automation, especially if there
are multiple buildings located across town.
Opinions do vary with each designer. Greg Turner, director
of global offerings at Honeywell Building Solutions, said it’s best
to have security and fire protection running together because it
increases the level of security, improves situational awareness and
reduces operating costs.
“When an incident takes place, video can move to a higher
frame rate of surveillance within the facility,” Turner said. “When
the security officer sees 22 people exit the building and there is
one lone figure ‘swimming upstream,’ there’s a problem. Safety
and security still matter most.”
The one facet most experts surely agree upon is energy and
cost savings in an automated building, including decisions of
when to light a space, or when to heat or cool the entire building
or just portions of it. The access control system has proven to be
a key source of data for operating the building more efficiently.
“But building owners and architects should always make sure
that the entire proposed system is UL listed for fire control and
security applications,” Turner said. “Not just the parts, but the
complete solution.”
The Greener Side
Automation today also has taken on a greener lifestyle as it represents
cost savings, reduces energy consumption and lowers
greenhouse gases. Building automation is especially popular in
new construction.
There are numerous reasons to integrate fire alarm systems
with building automation and control systems, but some fire experts
still say having it as part of the network costs less than you
might think.
However, the fire industry is moving in that direction, and the
day will come when every smoke detector and pull station will
have its own IP address.
“There’s no reason why the network can’t be built to serve the
fire industry,” said Todd Alford, the commercial marketing manager
at System Sensor. “We see Honeywell Fire Systems already
networking panels. Connecting a panel to an IP dialer would alert
the system that there is trouble, which means remote monitoring
would be notified.”
As it stands now, Alford said, networking fire applications is
rare, primarily because safety codes don’t demand it. However,
that’s not to say it can’t be done. Fire detection systems have been
integrated with door locks, as well as with HVAC and damper
controls, for smoke management for years. However, these systems
have relied on relays controlled by the fire alarm system to
activate the normal controls.
Turner said networking has been put into play, both at Fort
Bragg, N.C., and at the Pentagon, but there must be some changes
in the NFPA code and the standard protocol is not yet clear.
He said local jurisdictions also need to adopt mass notification
protocols, although the military has already jumped on board
with it in the Uniform Facilities Code.
“The fire control panel is the central point for communicating
and responding,” Alford said. “Some of the best places for a
networked fire system would be in the pharmaceuticals industry,
as well in refining of petroleum or gas, a food processing facility
or in the microchip industry.”
To Integrate or Not
Integration or flexibility: call it what you want, but it’s important
that the complete design solution includes specifications
that work toward performance. In an automated facility, performance-
based design would not only lower the cost of the
building, but also take into consideration smoke control, fire
walls, egress systems, mass notification and time-based blockings
at the doors.
Integration continues to be a growing trend, and with the IP
market accelerating, coupled with the application of technology,
system goals should be kept in mind when it comes to products
and developing the arrangement of equipment.
The language in the National Fire Alarm Code has been
incorporated to address integration of fire alarm systems with
other building systems. However, NFPA 72 specifically requires
that systems integrated with a fire alarm system not impair the
operation of the fire alarm system should they malfunction. This
is a key part of the testing that UL and other agencies perform
when they list an integrated system.
“Performance-based design means discussion of all fire protection
systems, egress management, smoke control and even mass
notification and the ability to have the system work together to
achieve code compliance at the lowest cost,” Turner said. “It doesn’t
mean it has to be one system. But one system may be able to do the
job and save a lot of money over the life of the building.”
Who is in Command?
Command and control, along with mass notification, tie directly
into the fire protocols. But they also have a direct link to building
automation. In fact, Turner said, mass notification is a higher
priority than a fire alarm notification during an incident under
current NFPA standards.
Terry King, the national business manager for Siemens Building
Industries, said the command and control of building automation
truly revolves around the relationship between the builder
and the building owner.
“Owners generally have a pretty clear vision of how they
want a building to operate,” King said. “The challenge is the final
execution. A successful building automation program clearly
requires a lot of bidirectional input to develop an overarching
master control.
“It takes a lot of feedback from the owner. The key to a smart
building is that integration must be fully in tune with command
and control; one in which building health is fully integrated at a
higher level.”
That sounds pretty easy, but the truth is there are no solutions
available straight out of the box, so it revolves back on bidirectional
communication.
Building automation on the network means that integration
must go beyond the requirement of on/off control of fans. Let’s
use HVAC as an example. Today’s systems are more complex.
Sensors are being developed that will recognize various contaminants
in the air that have a fire signature or a hazardous contaminant.
I
n some buildings, access control systems can monitor the
location of occupants. This allows first responders to know where
to look for people who need assistance.
“It really comes down to where we want to be tomorrow,”
King said. “We need something that does more than just collect
data, although that is critical in and of itself. We’re talking about
IP addressable alarms that have the advanced capability to move
data quickly and efficiently. We’re talking about security systems
with a code driver that can integrate with other systems, so the
IP framework provides more efficient communication and allows
easier communication with disparate systems.
“This system must be able to operate in a critical environment
and, ultimately, provide redundancy where egress is mandated by
policy and procedures drawn up by architecture. It’s necessary
that it operates in emergency situations, and knows how to respond,
and already has policies and procedures in place.”
Addressing Technology
Building automation systems have seen vast improvements over
the past few years, including the introduction of IPv6. This latest
protocol is part of the automation movement, and McCallum
said IP video surveillance cameras are coming onto the scene
with this function already built in.
“It allows different networks to run parallel with each other,”
McCallum said. “This decreases the need for IP addresses on all
the equipment, and it will be an offering in cloud computing.”
IPv6 holds great promise in addressing technology, Turner
said. There are 255 active devices on a subnet, and “IPv6 will allow
for more devices on the network, improve capacity and drive
down costs.”
Cloud computing also allows smaller networks to move toward
having a central network where a user can pick an application
already hosted in the cloud.
It’s all part of networking and the future of building
automation.
Networking capabilities were researched a few years ago when
the National Institute of Standards and Technology developed a
generation of smart fire alarm panels in which sensor data from
the integrated system measures heat release rates in a fire. This information
is important to help determine how a fire will grow and
where it will spread, which will help emergency responders plan a
strategy for fighting the fire before they even reach the site.
Because the network plays such a vital role, information is
transmitted by the building systems to a fire station or emergency
vehicles, improving response time, saving lives and reducing
property damage.
Some concerns include maintaining the integrity of fire
alarm systems during an emergency and isolating them from interference
caused by failures of other building systems, meeting
code and UL listing requirements, plus regulating and tracking
human responses. Design practice of the system pays big dividends
by protecting the fire system from failure of other building
systems and by using a gateway to isolate the system from
outside interference.
This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Network-Centric Security.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is editor-in-chief of Security Products magazine.