SmartNet-Pro delivers on fire safety remit for A5 Hub in South Wales

Originally an industrial paint factory, the new A5 Hub has been completely restructured to create individual spaces for multiple tenants.

In order to provide the entire building with efficient heating, the A5 Hub was fitted with an enclosed biomass boiler, which required the provision of a fire detection and alarm system to meet the building’s insurance obligations.

As the boiler had already been installed, the system needed to be implemented quickly. As such, SmartNet-Pro was selected for ease and speed of installation. During the site meeting with the A5 Hub team, Ceaton Security noted that the fire detection and alarm system for the main factory building was also no longer operational and, as a result, proposed SmartNet-Pro as the ideal choice to expand the system.

The site consists of the main factory building, the small unit containing the biomass boiler and fuel hopper as well as an additional seven smaller units. The seven separate smaller units further demonstrated the requirement for a 100% wireless solution as creating cable routes to each of these buildings would have been complex, time-consuming and costly.

Site meeting

“During the site meeting,” commented Paul Biggs, fire division technical support specialist at Ceaton Security, “it became instantly evident that SmartNet-Pro would be the ideal solution for A5 Hub to fulfil the immediate requirements of the biomass boiler as well as expand to replace the existing non-operational fire detection and alarm system for the main factory and the seven units.”

Biggs added: “In total, the installation took just over one week to complete, whereas if we had used a wired solution the installation would have taken a couple of months due to the scale and complexities of the site. SmartNet is our preferred wireless solution.”

Victoria Morton, landlord for the A5 Hub, stated: “Through referral from one of my contractors, we contacted Ceaton Security who recommended SmartNet-Pro due to the speed of the installation process and the fact that there would be minimal disruption. On that note, I was thoroughly impressed by the speed with which Ceaton Security was able to install SmartNet-Pro, as well as the lack of disruption caused to the site. I’m currently in the process of arranging a pre-site meeting with Ceaton to install SmartNet in another one of my properties.”

Wireless mesh technology

SmartNet-Pro uses the patented Cygnus wireless mesh technology. It allows for 511 devices and up to 96 zones on one system, with the ability to network up to five panels via a software release code, in turn realising a combined solution of more than 2,500 devices.

The SmartNet network is built on a combination of radio devices operating on a patented self-forming, self-healing wireless mesh network with multipath network redundancy using channel-hopping technology. SmartNet-Pro offers a reliable, robust and adaptable solution that’s “up to 20 times faster to install” than wired systems.

Attending the Cygnus Academy is a compulsory element of installing SmartNet, ensuring that installers have the skills to configure and fit the system correctly and provide a high-quality service for the customer base.

Paul Biggs concluded: “Six of our installers at Ceaton Security have attended the Cygnus Academy, gaining Cygnus SmartNet Certified Installer status as a result of doing so. The training’s informative and we would highly recommend it to other installers.”

*Further information is available online at www.cygnus-systems.com