Purchasing an IP Fire System

Purchasing the right Fire Alarm System for your application can be a daunting task. In a lot of instances, specifying influences rely on the local Manufacturers Rep when preparing specifications for a new project. Why not? These are the industry experts.

That’s great, and these guys are very helpful, it’s just that the technology at their disposal is 20 or 30 years old. Even their new equipment is just the old technology repackaged. It’s not their fault – it’s just all they have.

Is there a problem in marketing old technology? After all, the equipment still works the way it should.

The answer to that is that the older technology doesn’t work as well as it could. We demand a much higher level of performance from our tools and systems today because we know that today’s advanced technology can easily provide it.

We demand exponentially more from our computers, telephones, televisions, security systems… and the list goes on. We’ve come to expect improved performance from our improved technology. Isn’t that the purpose of advancing technology – to improve performance, improve reliability and add features? Aren’t those the same prerequisites we should be expecting from our fire alarm systems?

There is a higher level of performance we can reach (and expect) when we use the newest technologies that are at our disposal. At AsBuilt, we provide the higher level of performance you should be demanding from today’s advanced technologies.

After all, this is the age of worldwide, instantaneous IP communication. Would we ask a customer to invest thousands of dollars to fill an electrical room with brand new rotary telephones? After all, we do know that they would still work. In reality, no one in their right mind would offer this as a serious proposal. Why? Because we know better. We know there are more cost effective solutions that provide many more added benefits to our customer.

So why is it done with Fire Alarm systems?

We hear it enough to be concerned – and we know you’ve heard it as well. It’s usually said proudly: “I’ve been installing the same panel for 25 years!”. Really?

Twenty-five years ago, PC’s were in their infancy and still used DOS, cell phones were the size of toasters and a lot of people still relied on rotary antenna’s for good reception.

Older control panels present a single-point-of-failure. If the control panel goes down – so does the entire system. We’ve eliminated that problem. Every module operates independently.

Older control panels occasionally get discontinued. We see this kind of problem happen all too often. Just as you’ve invested tens of thousands of dollars in a new system, the manufacturer makes an announcement discontinuing the line (or worse yet, part of the line), but promises to keep spare parts available for 5 years. That’s all well and good, but what do you do in year 6?  We’ve eliminated that problem as well. IP/Ethernet technology is going to be around for a while, most people would agree on that. Once you’ve converted to an IP based system, you’ll never have to upgrade again. Advancements in technology can be made as simply as changing out a module. Cost effective, fast, and without any need to change out wiring.

There’s a big argument to be made about improving the art of fire protection. The technology is already here, it’s already available, and quite possibly, showing in a building near you!