SE Controls developed the fire-engineered solution for smoke and natural ventilation around the original fire specification and worked closely with the consultants to create an effective and reliable system that maximises comfort, safety and energy efficiency by linking to the BMS and separate fire-alarm system.

The smoke and natural ventilation system is split into two zones to maximise control over temperature and ventilation needs in the concourse and atrium areas by using louvres, roof vents and atrium vents controlled by the BMS.

In normal operation, local sensors supply information about changing temperatures to the BMS, which manages the proportional opening and closing of vents and louvres to control temperatures and ensure the building has a constant flow of fresh air.

The system closes vents in the event of high winds or rain.

The fire-alarm system can over-ride the BMS to open vents and louvres fully to create a smoke-free escape route and access for fire services.

To minimise false alarms, an alarm from a manual call point or single smoke detector requires a confirmation signal from the aspirator monitoring system. If the aspiration system detects a fault, no confirmation signal is required to activate the smoke ventilation if triggered manually or by a smoke detector.

Fail-safe back-up is provided by a monitored battery system and a further supply from the hospital’s secondary power system.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---