Kentec announces EN 54-Part 13 approvals

Kevin Swann, managing director of Kentec, said: “To those working within the fire sector, all will be familiar with the requirement for fire protection products and the need for them to be EN54 certified to the relevant standard. Almost all the standards in this series are related to individual product types and define the requirements and related tests for each component of the fire detection and alarm systems (FDAS). EN54-13 is a rigorous complete system test procedure that proves the compatibility of all the different individual components and that they work together as a system.”

EN54-13 (Compatibility and connectability assessment of system components) was first published in 2005. In most European countries it is an essential requirement for FDAS. It is also a British Standard and is referenced in BS5839 part 1.

This standard is important because end users and specifiers are often demanding systems that are ‘open protocol’. This means the manufacturer of the panel may be different from the devices, and importantly where the specifier can utilise the best technology from the market whilst not having to compromise on certain elements of the choice of devices because of a closed nature of the system and the limitations associated with a single source manufacturer. EN54-13 overcomes this compromise and ensures that full compatibility of the entire system and panel network is achieved and is certified by an approved certification body such as LPCB.

It ensures that the fire detection and alarm system components are compatible and communicate with each other at the most critical stages of a fire alarm operation and where different component manufacturers (i.e. panels, detectors, beam detectors, call points, sounders, etc.) test their equipment as a system and not as individual items.

It proves the system works in a fire and fault condition according to the manufacturer’s specification and component EN54 standards and most importantly ensures that the system is more resilient to critical fault conditions (i.e. panel failure, network failure and cable failures) and the reliability of the entire system can be proven.

EN54-13 goes beyond any individual standard and the requirements for cable fault condition monitoring and reporting are demanding, but enable the user and maintainer an opportunity to identify potential problems before they occur – Taktis provides full compliance with this. 

Kevin Swann added: “By Kentec obtaining EN54-13 on both Hochiki and Apollo protocols further demonstrates our commitment to innovation and compliance with the most demanding of standards and giving our customers peace of mind that they will always be protected, even in the most demanding situations and when you need them most, we are all very happy that we have now achieved this approval for our world-class Taktis fire panel.”