BUILDING SERVICES

ASSIGNMENT -4

1. SMOKE DETECTORS
• Smoke detector, device used to warn occupants of a building of the
presence of a fire before it reaches a rapidly spreading stage
and inhibits escape or attempts to extinguish it.
• On sensing smoke the detectors emit a loud, high-pitched alarm tone, usually
warbling or intermittent, and usually accompanied by a flashing light.
• There are two types of smoke detector:
➢ photoelectric smoke detectors
➢ ionization smoke detectors

2. HEAT DETECTOR
• A heat detector is a fire alarm device designed to respond when
the convected thermal energy of a fire increases the temperature of a heat
sensitive element.
• The thermal mass and conductivity of the element regulate the rate flow of heat
into the element.
• All heat detectors have this thermal lag.
• Heat detectors have two main classifications of operation,
➢ rate-of-rise heat detector
➢ fixed temperature heat detector
• The heat detector is used to help in the reduction of property damage.
3. MULTI SENSOR DETECTORS
• Designed to sense smoke and heat, multi-sensor detectors help reduce false
alarms by comparing the inputs from the multiple sensors before deciding
whether the source of the input is an actual fire or one of many false alarm
conditions.
• Fire detector that monitors more than one physical and/or chemical
phenomenon associated with fire.
• Typical examples are a combination of a heat and smoke detector or
combination of heat and gas detectors
• A multi-sensor alarm provides early warning of fire and can significantly reduce
the number of unwanted false alarms in certain circumstances.

4. FLAME DETECTORS
• A flame detector is a sensor designed to detect and respond to the presence of
a flame or fire, allowing flame detection.
• Responses to a detected flame depend on the installation, but can include
sounding an alarm, deactivating a fuel line (such as a natural gas line), and
activating a fire suppression system.
• When used in applications such as industrial furnaces, their role is to provide
confirmation that the furnace is working properly.
• it can be used to turn off the ignition system though in many cases they take no
direct action beyond notifying the operator or control system.
• A flame detector can often respond faster and more accurately than
a smoke or heat detector due to the mechanisms it uses to detect the flame.
5. OPTIMUM SPACING BETWEEN DETECTORS

• Heat detectors should be so installed that the sensing element is not less than 25
mm and not more than 150 mm below the ceiling/roof level.
• For smoke detectors, the sensing element should not be less than 25 mm and not
more than 600 mm below the ceiling/ roof level except as necessary by site test.

Siting and spacing of detectors (common to all types of smoke and heat detectors):

a) Under flat ceilings, the horizontal distance between any point in a protected
area and the detector nearest to that point shall not exceed
(1) 7.5 m in case of smoke detector
(2) 5.3 m in case of heat detector

b) In case of a sloping roof or pitched ceiling (where the distance between the top
of apex and bottom of the roof exceeds 600 mm), spacing of detectors at or in
the vicinity of apex may be spaced between 7.5 m and 8.5 m for smoke
detectors.

c) Detectors shall not be mounted within 500 mm of any walls, partitions or

obstructions to flow of smoke or hot gases, such as structural beams and
ductwork, where the obstructions are greater than 250 mm in depth.

d) Where structural beams or ductwork for light fittings or any other ceiling
attachments, not greater than 250 mm depth, create obstacles to the flow of
smoke, detectors shall not be mounted closer to the obstruction than twice the
depth of the obstruction.

e) Where partitions or storage racks that reach within 300 mm of the ceiling, they
shall be construed as walls that extend to the ceiling for the purpose of siting the
detectors.

f) Similarly, ceiling obstructions, such as structural beams, deeper than 10 percent

of the overall ceiling height shall be construed as walls for the purpose of siting
the detectors, that is, each bay formed by such beams shall be treated as
separate enclosure for provision/spacing of detectors.

g) Detectors shall not be mounted within 1 m of any air inlet (supply air inlets of
HVAC system) or a forced ventilation system.

h) Detector siting shall be such that a clear space of 500 mm is maintained below
each detector.

i) Where detectors are constrained to be fixed to the wall, they shall be sited in
such a way that the top of the detection element is between 150 mm and 300
mm below the ceiling and the bottom of the detection element is above the
level of door opening. Additional detector shall be placed on the ceiling at a
position 1.5 m from any opening which might act like a flue.
j) A detector shall be placed on the protected side of the premises on the ceiling
1.5 m from any door, window or any opening in the wall partitions separating the
protected premises from the other premises.

k) All stairwells, lift shafts, other utility shafts, etc, shall have a detector at the top. Lift
machine rooms shall be provided with a detector.

l) All unenclosed staircase shall have one detector at each main landing within the
staircase.

m) The detector shall also be provided in cable tunnels, ducts, false floors, AC and
AHU room, long AC return ducts and distribution boards.

n) No detector shall be subjected to any interior decoration treatment, that is,

painting, alteration of exterior cover, etc, to conform with the environment.

o) Every enclosure (that is, room or cabin) shall have a detector at ceiling level and
also under false ceiling, if provided.

p) Where there is more than one such enclosure per floor, a response indicator shall
be installed at the entrance to such enclosures to indicate where the detector
has actuated. This arrangement shall also be followed in case of all concealed
detectors in false floors, plenums, shafts, tunnels, etc.

q) Voids as in false ceiling/flooring more than 800 mm shall be protected with

detectors with spacing like in normal installation. However, voids as in false
ceiling/flooring less than 800 mm height need not necessarily have independent
coverage unless the void is such that the spread of fire products between the
rooms or compartments take place through it. Bathroom, lavatories, WC, etc,
however, need not be protected.

r) For irregular shaped areas, the spacing between the detectors may be greater
than the determined spacing provided the maximum spacing from the detector
to the farthest point of a side wall or comer within its zone of protection is not
greater than 0.7 times the determined spacing.

Indian Standard

SELECTION, INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF AUTOMATIC FIRE· DETECTION AND ALARM

SYSTEMCODE OF PRACTICE (IS 2189 : 2008)

VIPUL SOLANKI

A1904017066