Fire alarm systems

Fire alarm systems save lives and protect property. Fire alarm systems also break down because they are electrical. Class A or Class B wiring loops help the fire alarm panel to find these breakdowns (faults) before a fire, while there is time for repairs.

Class B Loops

In conventional Class B Loops, all devices are daisy-chained together. Bypassing a small electrical current passing through the wires, the panel supervises them, and to limit this supervising current, at the end of the daisy-chain is an end-of-line resistor. The panel constantly watches for this current. 

Open Fault in the Class B wiring. Supervision tells the panel that the wiring does not go through, but also the devices further from the panel don't work. If the supervising currentstops flowing, the panel assumes a wire is broken (an open fault), and displays a trouble. When a wire breaks in Class B, the devices closest to the panel will still work, but because of the wire break, the devices further from the panel are cut off. 

Class A Loops

Normal Class A wiring - All devices are supervised and working. Under normal conditions, Class A Loops are similar to Class B Loops, but with an important difference. 

If a wire breaks, the panel uses a redundant wire path to maintain communication with devices beyond the break. Here even though a wire is broken, all devices work. 

To keep more devices working, Class A uses a second path from the fire alarm panel a redundant wire loop goes around the broken wire. A fire can still be detected, because, using this redundant path, most, if not all, devices on the loop remain connected to the panel.  Basically, when the fire alarm panel detects an open wire in the Class A Loop, it automatically switches to using two separate un-supervised Class B loops. The first one is the original Class A loop, and second one back-feeds on the separate pair of wires to make the second Class B loop. 

Most of the devices on the original Class A loop will be on either the first or the second Class B loop. 

Separation on Class A Wiring Routes

Class A wiring schemes, protect this redundant loop path by routing it through the building on a separate route. An example: A forklift tears through all the wires in a bundle at once. If both wiring routes use the same wire bundle, and the whole bundle of wires is broken, and all the devices beyond the break will not communicate with the panel. In that case, Class A wiring will not be any better than Class B.  

Resetting Class A Troubles

Most fire alarm panels automatically restore trouble messages when the trouble is repaired. However, because the Class A Loop isn't supervised the same way as Class B Loops, the fire alarm panel can't detect corrections.  In these cases, after correcting the open fault, resetting the panel will clear the trouble message. 

Bottom Line for Class A

Class A Loop wiring uses both a primary wire path, and a redundant secondary wire path. When a wire breaks, by using both paths, devices are still able to communicate with the fire panel.

Types of Fire alarm Systems

Fire Alarm Systems can be broken down into four categories

• Conventional
• Analogue Addressable
• Addressable
• Wireless systems