Automist Smartscan Hydra
®
DIOM Manual - version 3.01.0
Plumis Ltd Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Page 23 of 116
S MA RT SC AN
®
Introduction
Automist must be designed by a competent and suitably trained Authorised Reseller Installer (ARI) Designer
in accordance with this DIOM.
Fire Tests and Limits of Application
Automist was tested against the fire performance in BS 8458 at Warrington fire. Warrington fire operates a
quality system in accordance with BS EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017 as required by BS 8458:2015. For more details
see:
•
Automist Smartscan Hydra Exova Warrington test report -
BS 8458: 2015: Annex B, Method for
Measuring the Capability of a Watermist System to Control a Fire.pdf
•
Automist Smartscan BSi Verification Certificate for BS 8458 performance requirements -
The system complies with Clause 6.1 (a) & (b) for domestic and residential premises at a maximum room
size of 80m
2
and a ceiling height of 3.5m. Clause c) is deemed not applicable because Automist is an
electronic nozzle and does not rely on a mechanical glass bulb. Automist’s electronic activation ensures that
only one of the (up to six) sprayheads in the system activates, the one with the best visibility of the fire.
Therefore, removing the concern that another sprayhead in an adjacent room (the third nozzle criterium)
may activate mechanically and share the water allocated for the room of fire origin.
Internal testing has been performed on the system in buildings up to a maximum ceiling height of 5m. This
setup can be considered if there is no fire loading above 2m. However, this requires a written justification
from a fire engineer because the increased ceiling height increases detector activation time. For high
ceilings beam or aspirating detectors should also be considered to shorten the activation time due to their
greater sensitivity over a larger area than point detection. In both cases the designer must select products
which are evaluated by approved bodies such as the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB). This
situation may also trigger the need for additional robustness and resilience measures (see page 19).
Example of a part of a high ceiling fire engineering justification
•
Steady-state fire with a heat release rate of 1000 kilowatts
•
Fire located at the floor level
•
The radial distance between the floor and the heat detector is 4.5m (15ft)
•
The activation temperature of the heat detector is 57.2 degrees C (135F)
The radial distance of 4.5m is the maximum distance a fire would be from a detector with a listed spacing of
9.1m. For ceiling heights of 2.4m, 3.5m, 3.8m, and 5.0m the estimated time to detector activation is as follows:
Ceiling Height (m)
Activation Time (s)
Percent Increase in Time (%)
2.4
83.42
--
3.5
147.58
177%
3.8
179.80
21.8%
5.0
~450
>250%
For these parameters, which are representative of a realistic fire scenario, the estimated increase in time to
activation between the prescribed 3.5m and the project-specific application of 3.8 is approximately 21.8%. For this
scenario, the 21.8% increase equates to approximately 30 seconds of time which is within reasonable
expectations for time to detector activation. According to the 2010 edition of the National Fire Alarm and
Signalling Code (NFPA 72) section B.3.2.3.1, “where ceiling heights exceed 4.9m (16ft) ceiling height is the dominant
