What is EN54-29?
EN54-29 is a European standard for multi-sensor fire detectors, focused on ensuring reliable and accurate detection of a wider variety of fire events than previous standards. This requires a higher sensitivity to smoke and heat.
Manufacturers in the UK and Europe have been updating their detectors to meet the new standards by making them more sensitive to smoke and/or heat.
Testing Procedures
To comply with EN54-29, fire detectors must undergo rigorous testing procedures, which include:
- Fire tests: These tests evaluate the detector's ability to accurately detect varying types of fire – from hot flaming fires to cold smouldering fires, ensuring that the detector is sensitive enough to detect genuine fires.
- Performance tests: These tests evaluate the overall robustness of the detector to false alarms and faults in different environments, such as high and low temperatures, varying humidity levels, and electromagnetic interference.
Compliance with EN54-29 ensures that fire detectors meet stringent sensitivity standards, resulting in more accurate and reliable fire systems. This is because EN54-29 tests detectors across a broader range of fires.
At Apollo, we test our products beyond the requirements of the standards, ensuring that our fire detectors are meeting the stringent sensitivity standards of today.
Impact of Testing Changes on Fire Systems
Enhanced System Design
To meet the stringent demands of EN54-29 and market requirements, manufacturers have employed innovative design strategies and integrated advanced technologies, particularly multi-sensor heat and smoke detectors, into their fire systems. The result is the development of more sophisticated detectors capable of differentiating real fires from potential false alarm triggers.
Increased User Confidence
The adoption of EN54-29 has increased user confidence in fire systems, as end users can trust that the detectors have undergone rigorous testing and met strict performance criteria. This confidence translates into a greater willingness to invest in advanced fire detection solutions.
Regarding testing criteria, as part of EN54-29 a new, harder environmental test has been introduced – Damp Heat, Cyclic (operational). This test stresses the detector by cycling between high and low temperatures in a damp environment, ensuring that no false alarms or faults are encountered in these difficult conditions. Because Apollo has always tested our products beyond the requirements of the standards of the day, Soteria was designed and tested to pass this requirement since its introduction in 2016.
Conclusion
The introduction of the EN54-29 standard has markedly enhanced the ability of fire systems to detect a wider variety of fire events. These changes in testing have facilitated the development of more advanced, more reliable fire detectors, thereby boosting user confidence in newer detection technologies, this is shown in the increased inclusion of Part 29 approved devices in specifications and tenders.
