World Patents Pending ©AirSense Technology Ltd. 1999
ISSUE 2.4
Page 3
T E C H N I C A L
.
M A N U A L
Introduction
There are now several air sampling smoke detection systems on the world Fire
Protection market that operate at ‘High Sensitivity’ levels as defined by the tests
described in BS6266 1992. The AirSense Technology Ltd
Stratos-
HSSD®
detector is
at time of writing, the latest entry in this field, and is designed to overcome many of
the shortcomings found in other systems. In order to understand Stratos it is useful to
have a cursory knowledge of the fire detection systems that preceded it, whether point
detectors, large area detectors or other aspirating smoke detection systems.
It is a truism that early detection of fires is the key factor in preventing them from
developing. The earlier they are detected and extinguished, the less damage will be
caused. It is not until one looks at the evolution of detection systems that one can see
where such a simple truism can lead. The major requirement of any system is,
obviously, to detect fire, but, not quite so obviously, to
not
give a warning when
no
fire occurs! The problem of unwanted alarms is a major one; for instance frequent call
outs to deal with non-existent fires can lead to a tendency for alarms to be ignored.
Unwanted alarms, from whatever cause, can largely negate the usefulness of any
alarm system and for this reason the ability to not give unwanted alarms must be rated
as high in importance as the ability to signal a true alarm.
United Kingdom
01462 440666
Netherlands
+31 1825 635696
Finland
400 652131
Australia
(08) 618 8443 9625
Help Lines
&
AirSense Technology has taken every care to ensure that Stratos is as simple to install as
possible, but in case of difficulty please contact our
Help Line
to ensure trouble free
installation.
About the author
The author has been involved for many years with the design of various successful fire
detection products. For many years he was also Electronic Engineering Manager of the
Company that first imported High Sensitivity aspirating Smoke Detection products to
Europe from Australia. He was subsequently involved in making this earlier generation
system suitable for application in the European fire market and developing differing
variants of this system. Since February ’93, Kit Girling has been responsible for leading
the design team that has developed the Stratos-HSSD
®
system.
