MeyerFire
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • TOOLKIT
    • ALL TOOLS
    • BUY THE TOOLKIT
  • UNIVERSITY
    • ALL COURSES
    • JOIN THE UNIVERSITY
  • PE Exam
    • PE Forum & Errata
    • PE Store
    • PE Tools
    • PE PREP SERIES
    • PE 100-Day Marathon
  • LOGIN
    • TOOLKIT-ONLY LOGIN
    • UNIVERSITY LOGIN
  • PRICING
    • SOFTWARE & TRAINING
    • STORE
  • OUR CAUSE
    • ABOUT MEYERFIRE
    • JOB OPENINGS
    • BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR
    • HELP/SUPPORT
Picture

Dampers on Clean Agent Releasing or FA Panel?

2/16/2021

7 Comments

 
We are designing a clean agent system for electrical rooms located within a high-rise building. We are proposing having dedicated clean agent releasing control panels for the electrical rooms, and a separate building Fire Alarm Control Panel.

Is it mandatory to connect fire/smoke dampers (and other shutdown devices) in the electrical room with the clean agent releasing panel, or can these be connected to the building fire alarm system?

Thanks in advance.

​​​​​​​Sent in anonymously for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe
7 Comments
Matt
2/16/2021 09:16:11 am

not sure about the code - but if the dampers play any role in the agent containment, you will want to make sure they close before the agent is discharged.

Reply
Pete
2/16/2021 10:09:28 am

I agree with both Matt and Doug. Depending on the age of the building FACP the functionality can be reduced from that of a modern panel, however, using solid state (solenoid) relays tied into fire alarm relays, there are a lot of options for setting up your action sequence.
The releasing panel could trigger programmed pre-action events, such as in the case of the Quell releasing panels starting the fire pump before releasing the solenoid on riser clapper.
Conversely, the detection pre-action triggers (smoke or heat) could theoretically be relayed through the sub-panel to send Trouble signals to the FACP which could in-turn initiate your shunt trips or whatever else you want to coincide with an alarm. I would consider these factors: 1) whether or not the shunt trip devices and dampers are already programmed to be performed by the FACP (if you're simply adding an initiating trigger to an existing program that is already wired to perform the desired operation, it would be far less work than starting from scratch), 2) whether you want the peripheral device events to be globally controlled (for ex. for a one stop bypass @ the FACP of notification appliances and shunt devices during inspections or during a fire emergency), and 3) if not code-mandated for the peripheral functions to precede the alarm event, are the shunt trip and baffles something you want to live with being inoperable for a clean agent system trouble until you get the system fixed? (smokes notoriously get dirty, go off in low temps, or just need to be changed out. If the system is shutting down the AHU in a freezing climate, are you willing to go without heat until an alarm tech comes out to change the smoke?

On the latter point, I would consider getting non-addressable, non-proprietary detection devices installed as pre-action devices for the proposed system. Then you could keep a spare stock, and a maintenance employee could pop the bad smoke out, install a new one out of the box, and reset the system.

Reply
Doug link
2/16/2021 09:29:00 am

If the clean agent panel is sending alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals to the building’s Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP), both panels make up one fire detection and alarm system. If the main fire alarm system detects a fire, using staged evacuation, the main FACP will evacuate the building. If the clean agent panel goes into alarm and sets off an alarm in the main building’s FACP, the main FACP will evacuate the building.

Even though they are two different boxes on the wall, in two different locations, from the point of view occupant, and from the point of view of the firefighters entering the building, a fire is a fire.

OK, the firefighters deal with the fires differently if the fire is in the hallway, or if the fire is in the electrical room, but they’re there to put out a fire.

If your dampers and other shutdown devices are shut down by an alarm on the building’s FACP, an alarm on the clean agent panel, having activated the main FACP into alarm, will shut down the devices.

Reply
Darrell Wright
2/16/2021 01:21:47 pm

I just did an acceptance test on this exact situation. It was done exactly as Doug says. FM-200 system has its own panel that sends signals to the main FACP for the entire building. The main FACP controls all the other functions such as dampers, fire doors, evac, etc.

Reply
chad putney
2/16/2021 02:39:18 pm

As the clean agent system is designed to minimize down time and losses, you should minimize the potential points of failure in its execution.

The releasing panel should have its own output to the dampers. Otherwise you are relying on the main FACP to do the work.

Not to say that the main FACP cannot control the dampers in parallel however, if the connection to the main FACP is lost or the programming somehow is changed, etc, etc, the clean agent system won't work if the room isn't properly contained.





Muneer
2/17/2021 10:08:51 pm

As per NFPA 2001, 2018 edition,

4.3.3.9 All devices for shutting down supplementary equipment
shall be considered integral parts of the system and shall
function with the system operation.

As per my understanding, all shutdown devices shall be connected with Extinguishing control panel as per above clause of NFPA 2001.
Now, can we use this clause on Main Fire Alarm Panel of Building as Extinguishing control panel will be interfaced with it.

Reply
KANG
2/16/2021 04:45:41 pm

Connecting damper shutdown signal from clean agent panel to HVAC panel is not mandatory. Building fire alarm panel which is connected with fire detector can deliver confirmed fire signal to both HVAC control panel to shutdown damper and clean agent panel to release gas.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    SUBMIT A QUESTION
    Picture
    Why Sponsor?

    ALL-ACCESS

    Picture
    GET ALL OUR TOOLS

    SUBSCRIBE

    Subscribe and learn something new each day:
    I'm Interested In:

    COMMUNITY

    Top May '25 Contributors
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    SEE LEADERBOARD

    YOUR POST

    SUBMIT A QUESTION

    PE EXAM

    Get 100 Days of Free Sample Questions right to you!
    SIGN ME UP!

    FILTERS

    All
    A1171
    ABA
    ADA
    ASCE 7
    ASME A17.1
    ASTM E1354
    Blog Thread
    Daily Discussion
    Design-documents
    EN 12845
    Explosion Protection
    Explosion-protection-prevention
    Fire Detection And Alarm Systems
    Fire Dynamics
    Flammable And Combustible Liquids
    Flammable-combustible-liquids
    FM Global
    Human-behavior
    IBC
    ICC 500
    IEBC
    IFC
    IMC
    IPC
    IRC
    ISO
    Means Of Egress
    NBC
    NFPA 1
    NFPA 10
    NFPA 101
    NFPA 11
    NFPA 110
    NFPA 1142
    NFPA 1221
    NFPA 13
    NFPA 13D
    NFPA 13R
    NFPA 14
    NFPA 15
    NFPA 16
    NFPA 17A
    NFPA 20
    NFPA 2001
    NFPA 214
    NFPA 22
    NFPA 220
    NFPA 24
    NFPA 241
    NFPA 25
    NFPA 291
    NFPA 30
    NFPA 307
    NFPA 30B
    NFPA 31
    NFPA 33
    NFPA 37
    NFPA 400
    NFPA 409
    NFPA 415
    NFPA 45
    NFPA 495
    NFPA 497
    NFPA 5000
    NFPA 502
    NFPA 54
    NFPA 55
    NFPA 654
    NFPA 68
    NFPA 70
    NFPA 701
    NFPA 72
    NFPA 75
    NFPA 770
    NFPA 82
    NFPA 855
    NFPA 90A
    NFPA 92
    NFPA 96
    NICET
    OBC
    OSHA
    Passive Building Systems
    PE Prep Guide
    PE Prep Series
    PE Sample Problems
    Poll
    Smoke Management
    Special Hazard Systems
    UFC 3-600-01
    UFC 4-021-01
    UFC 4-211-01
    UPC
    Updates
    Water Based Fire Suppression
    Weekly Exams


    ARCHIVES

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016


    PE PREP SERIES

    SEE LEADERBOARD

    RSS Feed

Picture
​Home
Our Cause
The Blog
The Forum
PE Exam Prep
The Toolkit

MeyerFire University
​Pricing
Login
​Support
Contact Us
Picture

MeyerFire.com is a startup community built to help fire protection professionals shine.
Our goal is to improve fire protection practices worldwide. We promote the industry by creating helpful tools and resources, and by bringing together industry professionals to share their expertise.

​MeyerFire, LLC is a NICET Recognized Training Provider and International Code Council Preferred Education Provider.

All text, images, and media ​Copyright © 2016-2025 MeyerFire, LLC

We respect your privacy and personal data. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. 
The views, opinions, and information found on this site represent solely the author and do not represent the opinions of any other party, nor does the presented material assume responsibility for its use. Fire protection and life safety systems constitute a critical component for public health and safety and you should consult with a licensed professional for proper design and code adherence.

Discussions are solely for the purpose of peer review and the exchange of ideas. All comments are reviewed. Comments which do not contribute, are not relevant, are spam, or are disrespectful in nature may be removed. Information presented and opinions expressed should not be relied upon as a replacement for consulting services. Some (not all) outbound links on this website, such as Amazon links, are affiliate-based where we receive a small commission for orders placed elsewhere.

  • Blog
  • Forum
  • TOOLKIT
    • ALL TOOLS
    • BUY THE TOOLKIT
  • UNIVERSITY
    • ALL COURSES
    • JOIN THE UNIVERSITY
  • PE Exam
    • PE Forum & Errata
    • PE Store
    • PE Tools
    • PE PREP SERIES
    • PE 100-Day Marathon
  • LOGIN
    • TOOLKIT-ONLY LOGIN
    • UNIVERSITY LOGIN
  • PRICING
    • SOFTWARE & TRAINING
    • STORE
  • OUR CAUSE
    • ABOUT MEYERFIRE
    • JOB OPENINGS
    • BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR
    • HELP/SUPPORT