iv
ZP3-ECU Extinguishing Control Unit User Guide
System limitations
Sensing equipment
The extinguishing control system equipment is reliant on external detection
equipment such as detectors, call points and fire control panels in order to
activate effective fire alarms. Incorrect positioning of the detectors, limitations in
the detector itself or incorrect application can result in failure of the detection
process.
Power faults
In the event of a mains fault the fire alarm control panel will continue to operate,
drawing power from the installed batteries. The length of time that the system
can continue to operate on batteries will depend on the control panel used, the
batteries installed, and the system load.
Once the batteries are exhausted the fire system will no longer detect fires and
the extinguishing control system will be unable to extinguish fires (until such time
as mains power is reestablished).
Bells and sirens
When the extinguishing control system causes an extinguishing discharge, the
appropriate fire bells and sirens sound. These could prove useless unless they
are situated in close proximity to the people they are supposed to alert.
Extinguishing system design
The extinguishing control system only controls the extinguishing activating
circuits. The design of the piping nozzles extinguishing pressure etc. is the
responsibility of the extinguishing system design engineer.
Maintenance system
As with most extinguishing systems the most common cause of their malfunction
is lack of maintenance. A full maintenance plan should be carried out on a
regular basis as described in Chapter 3 “Maintenance” on page 19.
