Edwards 85001-0541-E--Strobe Handbook

Handbook of Visual Appliances Fire Alarm Applications practical guide to regulatory compliance of Visual Appliances Fire Alarm Applications practical guide to regulatory compliance of Visual Notification Appliances for Fire Alarm Applications practical guide to regulatory compliance 2010 UTC Fire Security rights reserved Town Center Parkway Bradenton FL 34202 P N 85001 0541 Issue 4 E 0 9706268 0 0 handbook is for information only and is not intended as a substitute for verbatim legislated requirements For specifications regarding the application of life safety security and access control systems consult current of applicable codes and standards For authoritative interpretation of those codes and standards consult your authority having jurisdiction every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this handbook the authors and publish assume no responsibility for errors inaccuracies omissions or any inconsistencies herein and Signature Series are trademarks of UTC Fire Security traditional boundaries between building systems become blurred by advances in approaches it becomes increasingly important for everyone concerned building design and construction to have a thorough understanding of life equipment application Now that security and access control functions are resources with life safety systems it is no longer possible to design and building systems in isolation of one another Today unified building control a broad base of knowledge that encompasses a wide range of building functions your background is in life safety security or access control the of every building system installation will ultimately rest on the effectiveness the building emergency warning system Yet the application of life safety notifi appliances is one of the least understood elements of building system design installation today devices hold a special place because they are not only subject to the of building codes and life safety standards they are subject to fed laws as well Complicating matters further these laws address signaling from different points of view Life safety standards are written in the context of fire application while accessibility laws are enacted to make buildings and their signals accessible to all building occupants regardless of the physical they face Much of the confusion that surrounds the application of notifi appliances lies where these standards and laws converge handbook will help system designers and installers identify those of convergence in order to gain an understanding of how the requirements fit It will bridge the gap between legislation and practice And it will provide with an overview of the changing nature of notification appliances and the that govern their application Edwards we believe that the best notification appliances are the ones that applied to provide the most efficient means of warning and installed to deliver the level of performance We also recognize that competitive bidding is essential achieving these goals This handbook will demonstrate that despite the inherent it is possible to apply life safety notification appliances so that they are efficient economical and compliant with all the prevailing legislation of Visible Notification Appliances for Fire Alarm Applications The Legislative Landscape 1 A comparison of standards requirements 15 Photometric features 17 Flash intensity 19 Vertical placement wall mounted strobes 23 Placement in corridors 24 Room spacing 26 Summary 29 Strobe Application 31 Vertical placement non sleeping areas 31 Strobe Spacing 33 Square rooms 33 Rectangular rooms 34 Irregular rooms 34 Large rooms 35 Applications for ceiling mounted strobes 38 Corridors 42 Sleeping areas 43 Strobes in harsh and hazardous environments 45 Summary 46 Strobe Selection Guide 47 Listing Agencies 47 New Technologies 52 Understanding Current Draw 53 Summary 54 Glossary 61 Bibliography 63 Resources 63 with Disabilities Act ADA 63 Standards and Listing Agencies 63 64 and Interest Groups 64 Index 65 Proposed ADA Accessibility Guidelines ADAAG 55 of Visible Notification Appliances for Fire Alarm Applications The Legislative Landscape compliance strategy for visual notification appliances can be effectively formulated a solid understanding of the principles that underlie visual signaling and the laws govern their application This chapter provides an overview that provides the basis for discussion on visual signaling application in the context of current standards and are visual notification appliances notification appliances are fire alarm devices that provide visual notifi of a life safety system event Generally speaking there are two kinds directly viewed visual notification appliances those that operate in private and those that operate in public mode mode signaling is intended to alert and inform only those who directly involved with the response to an emergency situation Such in include firefighters security personnel and others who are familiar the operation of the fire alarm system Private mode visual signaling is not intended to compensate for hearing impairment or high ambient conditions mode signaling is intended to provide building occupants with warning of danger so that they can exit the premises safely Public signaling appliances serve a very different purpose from their private counterparts In the public mode signals must be unambiguous easily by people who have little or no knowledge of fire alarm systems able to reach all occupants of the building Visual signals were developed as a means to provide emergency warning to individuals who would A UTC Fire and Security Company The Legislative Landscape 1 Help for Hard of People Hearing Journal http codi 2 Ibid 3 Ibid normally hear audible signals such as a horns bells or speakers function of a visual notification device is accomplished by means a strobe set to flash at a prescribed frequency or flash rate Strobe devices usually marked with the word or a pictogram communicating the of the device and are frequently found in combination with audible This handbook focuses on the standards and codes governing the of visual notification appliances also referred to as visual signals in the public mode are visual notification appliances needed estimated one in 125 Americans suffers from profound hearing loss i e can hear little or no sound 1 This is a significant portion of the population would certainly benefit from alarm strobes in the event of an emergency hearing loss doesn have to be absolute to render audible signals Today one in 11 Americans suffers some form of hearing impair Even partial hearing loss can interfere with the ability to identify an au signal 2 Making audible signals louder to accommodate hearing impaired is not a reasonable option because doing so could result in signals produce sound pressure levels that cross the pain threshold and that could permanent damage to the hearing of people who suffer no impairment visual notification appliances find their justification among the of America hearing impaired today it highly unlikely that we find relief in those statistics in the years to come Quite the opposite is true no secret that hearing acuteness decreases with age In fact we all lose a of hearing acuity each year past the age of 35.3 As the percentage of population reaching their senior years continues to swell over the next two so too will the proportion of those who find it increasingly difficult to audible signals of Visible Notification Appliances for Fire Alarm Applications The Legislative Landscape impairment is not the only factor that establishes a need for signals Industrial and other settings with high ambient noise levels af the ability of even those with no impairments to hear emergency signals warehouses even nightclubs and theatres frequently have sound that conspire to render audible signals ineffective Workers wearing sound headsets or ear plugs risk missing audible alarm signals not only the he