C-TEC's FastConvert conventional-to-addressable zone converter has saved thousands of pounds on a fire system project at North Road Academy, an Islamic primary school in Stoke-on-Trent, after the school initially considered replacing its system entirely.
Following a site survey, specialist electrical company W R Fire & Security identified the potential to enhance the existing conventional system by converting it to an addressable system using FastConvert, rather than starting again with new equipment.
Three upgrade options weighed
Before opting for FastConvert, three alternative upgrade routes were considered. The first was a new conventional panel, which would have allowed the zones to be separated out and additional zones created, but would have required extra cabling and still left the school with a conventional system able to report only zonal fire and fault information.
The second was a full re-cable of the system. This was ruled out on budget grounds, as it would have added an estimated £10,000 in materials and additional labour, along with far greater disruption and a longer installation timescale.
The third was to convert the remaining six zones into loops. According to the article, this would have added around a week to the installation for two engineers, plus additional cabling, materials and disruption, at an estimated extra cost of £3,000 to £4,000.
FastConvert was described as the only option that avoided all three drawbacks at once: it reused the existing wiring, delivered a genuine loop-based addressable system rather than a conventional one, and did so without the extra cost, labour or disruption. That combination, the article states, made it the obvious choice for the school.
What the conversion delivered
By using the old system's wiring, FastConvert upgraded the school's legacy conventional system into an open-protocol CAST addressable system. The resulting system is described as capable of lockdown alert functionality and internet connectivity, and able to accommodate C-TEC's CAST-PRO false alarm resistant combined fire detection and alarm devices.
To achieve this, two radials were combined into a single loop, with a dedicated two-loop panel installed for FastConvert.
Contractor's assessment
Wayne Riley, managing director of W R Fire & Security, said the company was very impressed with FastConvert and considered it extremely innovative in terms of what it can do. He compared it with a full re-wire, which he said would have added around £10,000 to the job, and with converting the remaining zones into loops, which he said would have cost an extra £3,000 to £4,000 plus a week's extra labour for two engineers. Against those alternatives, he called FastConvert the clear winner, saying it massively reduced installation time, site disruption and labour costs and saved the project approximately £3,500.
Riley added that the company also liked the new CAST-PRO devices and felt they were far superior to those of other manufacturers, because the sounder/VADs and multi-sensors are built into the heads, removing the need for separate sounder bases.