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Adam Bannister is a contributor to IFSEC Global, having been in the role of Editor from 2014 through to November 2019. Adam also had stints as a journalist at cybersecurity publication, The Daily Swig, and as Managing Editor at Dynamis Online Media Group.
April 30, 2015

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How is the Cirrus HYBRID Aspirating Detector Innovative?

Part of a new breed of aspirating detectors the Cirrus HYBRID is the only ‘cloud chamber’ detector on the market.

Michael Calvert, specialist detection systems manager at the company behind the innovation, Protec Fire Detection, says the new detector raises the bar when it comes to identifying false alarms.

IFSEC Global: What does your product do?

Michael Calvert: Cirrus HYBRID is the next generation of ‘Aspirating Detectors’ (or air sampling detectors) from Protec Fire Detection. Air is drawn from the protected space via a network of supervised sampling pipes to a wall mounted fire/smoke detector. The detector employs an inbuilt blower to transport the air through the pipes from the space.

Aspirating technology is not a new concept as this technology has been providing early warning detection for high risk or high value applications for many years. However, aspirating detectors are now being installed in an ever increasing number of different applications for many different reasons.

So it is essential that the detector itself is capable of detection across the widest spectrum of fire scenarios.

By utilising the two best forms of aspirating system technologies Cloud Chamber Detection (CCD) and Early Warning Smoke Detection (EWSD) in one detector, the Cirrus HYBRID detector provides a device able to detect fire and smoke over the largest range of fire types.

IG: How did you have the idea?

MC: The basic concept has been subconsciously developing in my mind over a number of years. However, it is with the advance in LED technology for optical smoke detection that a solution has become financially viable and has allowed us to add optics into our existing cloud chamber detector.

The challenge then became two fold; One challenge was to see how these two technologies could not just work independently, but to see if the two could work in synergy to improve the range of fire types found in the many different product applications. The second challenge was to see if we were able to make a genuine improvement on our existing product as its applications have now become so numerous.

Our starting point for this would be that, as we already have the earliest warning aspirating detector with the highest immunity to false alarms on the market, we did not want to create a marketing gimmick. Instead, we wanted to advance technology and prove Protec Fire Detection remained at the forefront of fire detection solutions.

IG: Which kind of customers will be interested in this product?

MC: Aspirating detection systems are one of the fastest growing sectors within the global fire alarm industry. As a result of the 2008 “dot com” crash the main aspirating detector manufacturers have been providing solutions to many different applications; other than the original concept of the product which was mainly early warning detection within high value, high risk applications.

More recently, aspirating detection has become the accepted solution for many applications including general and high bay warehousing, cold storage, atriums, ceiling voids, high ceiling spaces such as airport lounges, indoor arenas and theatres. Power and other utility plants, industrial conveyor systems, very dusty areas and many more harsh environment applications are now protected by aspirating detection systems.

These vast and varied applications mean there are so many specifiers, installers and end users wishing to employ aspirating detection system solutions.

IG: Why is it innovative? What does it do that no other product does?

MC: Prior to the Protec Cirrus HYBRID product, no other aspirating system manufacturer has totally integrated two different detection technologies to create a single product which is able to see a much wider range of fire types, than just a single specific technology. For this reason Protec applied for, and have now received, a patent for this concept.

Protec made the bold decision not to just make general product improvements and re-package existing products. Instead we hoped we could genuinely advance technology and adapt our detector to the changing applications where it is now employed.

Our existing Cirrus Pro aspirating detector is the only ‘Cloud Chamber’ detector on the market. Some fires can be clean burning, producing very little or even no smoke. For many years cloud chamber detectors (CCD) have proven to be the earliest fire detection technology, as they can identify optically invisible combustion particles created as a material overheats and more importantly, before smoke is produced (i.e. 0% obs/m).

Where true incipient fire detection is required, cloud chamber detectors are the only aspirating detectors able to detect invisible combustion particles, thereby providing the earliest warning and the most time for corrective action to be taken (the soonest you can know). The Cirrus HYBRID employs this same cloud chamber technology, so this is quite a good starting point.

Some fires burn with only a small amount of visible smoke and some with greater volumes of smoke. The Cirrus HYBRID also employs Early Warning Smoke Detection (EWSD) using high performance optical ‘Scatter Chamber Detectors’ (SCD) that identify both small and large smoke particles entering the detector.

However, what makes this totally new concept in aspirating fire and smoke detection technology so unique, is that these two technologies work independently from each other, and through the use of complex algorithms work together with each other, to provide intelligent alarm decision making.

The result of this synergy of technologies is a device that can verify true alarm conditions and as importantly, can identify unwanted or false alarms which plague so many optical only aspirating detectors.

IG: What are your plans for FIREX?

MC: For many years Firex has been very important to Protec Fire Detection. Not only does it assist to re-enforce our status as the UK’s largest independent fire alarm manufacturer, it genuinely exposes are products and solutions to existing and new export partners.

Firex has been responsible for introducing Protec to many of its export partners, some of which over time, have now become part of the Protec Group such as Protec Holland and Protec Spain. We anticipate Firex 2015 will be another successful show for Protec as we officially launch two new flagship digital addressable fire alarm panels and our two new aspirating detectors.

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