| Having decided upon a hard-wired system, you will need to choose a particular control panel.
Introduction
There are two main types of hard-wired control panel.
Both types of Control Panel have the following common hardware features.
- Mains power connection - all hard-wired panels must be connected to the mains supply. The control panels have an internal transformer (usually rated at 1.0 Amp) which supplies the panel PCB with its AC supply. The AC supply is rectified to provide a nominal DC 12v supply which is used both to power the panel and also to provide auxilliary outputs for powered detectors, battery charging, and sounder hold-offs. The amount of power available for the sounder and powered detectors is approximately 0.75 Amp (750 milliamps). A sounder configured as SAB requires up to 500mA, and as such additional sounders should be configured as SCB.
- Battery charging circuitry - all control panels should be fitted with a rechargeable sealed lead acid battery, and as such a trickle chargeing circuit is provided. This is usually fuse and polarity protected.
- Auxilliary 12v DC supply for powering powered detectors (PIRs, vibration detectors etc.). This circuit is usually fuse protected.
- Connections for an external (or internal) SAB (or SCB) sounder. The majority of external sounders require 5 connections to the control panel viz. Positive and negative 'Hold offs', Bell (a legacy term) and strobe triggers, and a Tamper return.
- At least 8 zones for wiring detectors. Zones are programmable to operate in different ways More...[?]
Stand-alone Control Panels
Stand-alone Control Panels are Grade 2 max. More...[?]. This grade is adequate for domestic properties.
Stand-alone control panels have an on-board keypad (for programming and setting/unsetting the system)and as such they are designed to be fitted in an accessible position adjacent to the main entry/exit point of the premises. as a result the majority of stand-alone panels are described as 'Compact', i.e. they have a small footprint (typically 260mm x 210mm) and a shallow depth (typically 60mm). The 'Compact' size limits the size of the back-up battery that can be fitted - the majority of 'Compact' panels are designed to accept the 2.1Ah battery (178mm x 34mm x 64mm); some batteries are available with different capacities e.g. 1.9Ah but with the same physical size and these can also be fitted in 'Compact' panels. The battery size limit also has the knock-on effect of limiting the overall system in that the number of powered detectors (PIRs, Vibration etc.) that can be part of the system - more than around 4 or 5 powered detectors will reduce the battery standby time to an unacceptably short time. There is one full size Stand-alone control panel we supply (Texecom Veritas 8) which will accept up to a 7.0Ah battery.
Stand-alone Control Panels use LED indicators to display the system status and for programming indications. Programming the system is much easier when an LCD text display is available, however, this is only aavailable on some Blank End-station systems. All the stand-alone Control Panels we supply can have Remote Keypads (RKPs) connected (usually 4 max.) to the Control Panel. However, in the majority of cases the RKP will also be an LED type.
Another limitation with Stand-alaone control panels is the lack of speech dialler outputs. You may have seen alarm systems described as 'Bells Only' systems, which basically means what it says - a system which just signals the external/internal sounders immediately the alarm is triggered. This doesn't mean that you cannot use a speech dialler with the system, in fact you can but you will not have the dedicated dialler outputs (typically 'intruder', 'personal attack', 'fire') that are included on most Blank End-station control panels - instead the dialler will have to be triggered from the bell output and can thus only deliver one type of message, as opposed to the 3 or 4 alarm tailored messages from the dedicated outputs. Obviously, the sonders cannot be delayed when the dialler is triggered from the bell output. There is one exception - the Scantronic 9448 has dedicated dialler outputs (intruder and PA only), but does not have a bell delay feature.
In summary, choose a stand-alone Control Panel when;
- You are happy to use conventional Closed Circuit wiring (easiest) as opposed to Fully Supervised (using EOL resistors) wiring (more complex).
- You are happy to have the panel 'on show' near the entrance/exit point of the premises. Also note that the alarm wiring and mains cable have to be routed to the Control Panel, resulting in unsightly trunking.
- You are not going to have more than a total of 4 powered detectors (PIRs, Vibration, Breakglass etc.) on the system.
- You are happy to programme the system using LED indications rather than an LCD text display. Note: it is not difficult to program using LEDs, it is just a bit easier using the LCD text display for inexperienced installers.
- You do not wish to fit a speech dialler and use its full functionality.
Blank End-stations
Blank End-stations comprise a blank control panel (i.e. no on-board keypad) and one or more RKPs. The blank panel is designed to be fitted covertly e.g. in the attic or a cupboard and the RKP(s) at the entry/exit point(s). Each RKP is connected to the control panel, and each RKP can be used to program, and set/unset the system. Still on the subject of RKPs, the majority of Blank End-stations are available with LCD (full text) RKPs and occasionally LED RKPs as well, and the LED and LCD RKPs can be mixed on the same system. To take a particular example; the Accenta G4 Control Panel is normally supplied with an LCD RKP. If more than one RKP is fitted and the subsequent ones are to be used solely for setting/unsetting the system, then it makes economic sense for the additional RKPs to be LED types - the LCD RKP is used for programming the system. In addition, RKPs for some Blank End-station systems are avbailable with a proximity reader built into the keypad. This alleviates the need to input the code when setting/unsetting the alarm and also reduces the wear on the keypad.
In summary, choose a blank end-station Control panel when;
- You want the main control panel hidden from view.
- You want an LCD keypad display (Texecom Veritas Excel, Texecom Premier 24, Honeywell Accenta G4, Scantronic 9x5x series, are examples).
- You want to use a Proximity tag system (Texecom Premier 24, Scantronic 9x5x series, are examples)
- You want to add a speech dialler.
- You want the choice of conventional Closed Circuit Loop (CCL) or EOL wiring.
- You want to expand the system to include more zones or to add wireless zones.
Related Articles
Compare Blank End-stations
Design Example using a Blank End-station
Links to hard-wired, wireless, hybrid.
|
