With a combination of pretty special radio technologies being developed for today’s control panels, not to mention integrated wireless sensors that provide comprehensive intrusion and environmental protection for end users’ organisations, it’s fair to say that wireless has never been more reliable in terms of its commercial application.
“The new wireless capabilities of our systems mirror changes in the way people are running their businesses, whether they be smaller retail outlets or full-scale hospitals,” opined Tony Makosinski, the head of marketing (UK and Ireland) and EMEA marketing co-ordinator at Honeywell Security.
“Flexibility in design is now more important than ever. Our new wireless solutions offer a reliable platform for clients in the commercial arena, at the same time affording Galaxy Dimension and G2 [the company’s hybrid solution complete with wireless Dual Tec sensors] new-found functionality and versatility.”
Before delving into the company’s rationale for this move into the wireless sphere – a decision taken with both security installers and end users in mind – let’s take a quick look at the all-new systems on offer.
Site visits dramatically decreased
Dimension is a hybrid solution for the larger installation, perhaps a department store, a warehouse, an office complex or a school. In essence, then, any installation with lots of floors and plenty of doors.
Here, Dimension removes the need for cabling maintenance and can increase revenue opportunities for the installer wherever the use of said is, for whatever reason, deemed impractical.
Positively, site visits are decreased with this solution – music to the ears of end users, then – because the selected installers are able to carry out maintenance both remotely and instantly thanks to a Remote Servicing Suite (which allows the programming of detectors before they’re sent to site) and the use of Remote Routine Inspection tools to boot.
“The beauty of this system is that it requires only a few RF portals around the site, as well as an RS 485 bus connection,” suggested Makosinski as we chatted at length about his company’s bold – and most welcome – bid to try and change the inherently conservative nature of how we ‘do security’ in the UK. “There’s no requirement to find the best signal. The system automatically takes care of this, and allocates the RF portal with the best signal.”
In addition, Makosinski was quick to point out that panic buttons related to the Dimension installations will cover a much larger percentage of the client’s site, increasing their peace of mind into the bargain.
G2 hybrid solution explained
The G2 hybrid solution complete with new, wireless Dual Tec sensors and detection is better suited to the SME more prone to opportunist break-ins and false alarms. False alarms caused by the number of people using the system, perhaps interference from other equipment and, on occasion, external factors (white light among them). The latter is often problematic at those end user sites where large areas of glass have been designed-in by project architects.
As is the case with the Galaxy Dimension wireless set-up, the sensors for G2 also offer new revenue streams for the incumbent installer.
Restaurants and shops, of course, are also facing risks such as fire and flood damage – a particular problem at present given the UK’s prolonged spell of snow and Syberian-like temperatures. Flood and temperature sensors available with this system, then, are a huge bonus for the end user, so too the Viper shock sensors for early warning detection at such junctures when matters are awry.
According to Makosinksi, the wireless Dual Tec motion sensors provide “faster and more reliable” detection, using K-band microwaves to quickly verify the PIR signal prior to any alarm decision. Due to the fact that K-band operates on a higher frequency, it’s far less likely to penetrate either walls or glass, in turn reducing false alarm episodes and the intervention costs associated with them.
Changing the installer’s mindset
Why don’t installers fit more wireless, radio-based intruder systems than is the case at present? In a bid to elicit answers to that particular question, Honeywell has been deeply embroiled in its ‘Voice of the Customer’ Programme, interviewing various members of the installation community.
From those conversations, it has emerged that the conservative attitude towards radio systems stems from – among other things – worries over how often batteries need to be changed, and how much this process will add to overall annual service costs.
“How can radio be as secure as the wired equivalent?” was a common answer. “Radio systems never seem to have the range quoted when I use them in larger or older buildings” and “I worry about false activations from other local systems” were other typical responses from those engineers quizzed at length on their opinions.
“The feedback we’ve had suggests that engineers are also worried about radio-based intruder systems being jammed, and perceive the type of radio sensors available to be limited,” explained Makosinski.
“Approval from their chosen Inspectorate as part of a Grade 3 system is another concern that has been voiced. Our whole reasoning for what we’re doing is to assuage these concerns and change the installation mindset on intruder systems.” Indeed, a series of five Dimension Roadshows to be held around the UK at the tail end of this month are aimed at doing just that.
Providing the longest battery life
Let’s examine the issue of battery life. To provide the longest possible lifecycle, good radio technology must limit the supervision transmission period to the minimum required by current legislation. That means 18 minutes with EN 50131 Grade 2 (or one hour in other cases).
In addition, short messages must be used so that each transmission is kept to a limited consumption. It probably goes without saying, almost, but ‘best performance’ radio technology ought to be employed. That engenders good transmission reliability, and reduces the need for message repetition.
“I can see why installers are concerned about this particular issue,” asserted Makosinski. “Many of the high performance radio systems use very narrow band radio, but they have a limited battery life of somewhere between two and three years.”
By the same equation, plenty of the cheaper systems employ broadband technology. That’s easy from a development point of view, but perhaps not the best solution in terms of making life less onerous for the engineer at installation time. Neither is it conducive to operational reliability.
Lithium not alkaline!
As a company, Honeywell really scores in the area of battery life. Theirs is one of the very few narrow band systems that combines steady, solid radio performance with high reliability and lifecycles of five years and beyond.
“When we were developing the Dimension wireless solution, we knew that we couldn’t have a situation wherein the batteries it required would have to be in some way ‘special’. It was imperative they were readily available, consumer-style batteries,” said Makosinski.
“Batteries need to be AA lithium and not alkaline,” stressed Makosinski. “We have carried out our own independent tests, and we tend to prefer the Energizer brand.”
The Honeywell team held discussions with Tony Weeks, the NSI’s technical manager, on several issues (most notably about how to include Grade 2 radio in a Grade 3 system), and also talked to representatives from the SSAIB.
The radio solution developed by Makosinski’s organisation employs the unique Alpha protocol. “The reason for this,” he outlined, “is because systems now demand more sophisticated intrusion products, such as video PIR and LCD keypads.”
To provide such functions, the Alpha protocol uses multiple 868 MHz channels. In short, the panel ‘wakes up’ peripherals on a specific channel to avoid disturbing other peripherals at rest. On top of that, the transmission of video – and, indeed, of keypad configuration data – uses other dedicated channels to avoid any possible collision with either alarm or ‘wake up’ channels.
What makes Alpha so different?
For starters, Alpha uses up to 250 million different addresses per device type. “This enables us to guarantee that duplicate transmitters need never be made,” Makosinski told me. “We employ a custom-built coding system.”
Off-the-shelf coding chips – typically 8-bit – used in other industries can cause interference problems as Wi-Fi deployment hastens. Honeywell’s custom-built code is a 14-bit rolling code, with encryption of all control devices the norm.
Looking at installers’ concerns over the range achievable with radio-based systems, in free space Honeywell’s solution can achieve up to 2 km. More than 100 metres all around the panel, in fact, inside and outside of the premises where installation has taken place. Something around 500 metres is, apparently, the industry norm.
“That 500 metres range is a real problem inside many types of buildings, and again I can see why installers are troubled by this. It can be an issue in concrete and steel apartment blocks, tall structures, those buildings lined with foil-backed plasterboard and the like.”
Radio levels and supervision
With the new Honeywell intruder solution, radio levels are automatically checked during initial enrolment operations. “There’s no guesswork involved here,” asserted Makosinski. “Actual radio performance is automatically displayed and logged.” It’s worth reinforcing the point that, in any case, PD6662:2004 and DD243:2004 demand such information.
Many systems still wait for the usual 54 minutes before self-reacting to missing ‘supervisory’. Alpha systems are somewhat different and, by extension, better for it. They use two-way communication to limit transmitter activity, with programmable intervals from two hours down to just ten minutes. They also raise a fault condition if a panel fails to receive any reply.
“There’s less battery drain, and it’s a more accurate supervision regime than simply raising an alarm by default just because you didn’t spot a signal coming in at the first time of asking,” explained Makosinksi.
During the conference call, Makosinski’s colleague Martin Pacitti was quick to point out that EN 50131-5-3 Grade 2 compliance is standard and that, aside from the supervision interval, Alpha meets most of the Grade 3 requirements as well.
Pacitti explained: “Grade 3 asks for permanent three-minute supervision cycles, which means too low battery life without real technical background, as the supervision signals themselves don’t carry any information.”
High reliability and practicality: the norm
The Agile Routing system that underpins Honeywell’s solution allows several paths to receive bi-directional signals when several portals are installed. That means real advantages can be had in medium-sized and larger installations.
“The bi-directional communications element of all this really is very important,” urged Makosinski. “The sensor will send a message repeatedly until there’s an acknowledgement. Also, the full monitoring of wireless peripherals via RSS means reduced servicing costs, that is to say low signal detection.”
In practice, if more RF portals are installed then even greater flexibility will result. A given detector will automatically find the strongest bi-directional signal path. The beauty of the set-up is that if the local environment should change in any way, the system will always find the next best route in much the same way that a mobile phone operates.
Honeywell has installed over a million systems in Europe that make good and effective use of two-way radio. They all work very well. The challenge was to adapt them for use in the UK commercial arena, as most are of a domestic nature. The sensors on offer had to be upgraded for commercial use.
All of these issues have been addressed and, whereas the Dual Tec sensor was previously missing, that’s no longer the case.
Where do we go from here?
So, the Alpha protocol is available in three separate alarm systems – Dimension (16 to 512 zones), G2 (12 to 48 zones) and the Domonial total radio solution for residential properties.
Are installers, consultants and end users really going to buy into this move towards wireless in a big way, though? It must be said that the evidence cajoling them to do so is pretty compelling.
Bi-directional communications mean greater reliability and security. Inherent system reliability not only opens up a wider range of installations but also saves on repeat site visits. Installation costs are reduced, so too ongoing service and maintenance monies.
With wireless, there are no terminals to work loose. There’s no chance of spurious tamper alarms resulting from damaged or damp cables, nor any possibility of induced electrical interference.
As if that little lot weren’t enough, detectors can be fitted in the optimum place rather than simply where a cable might be attached. Full, remote monitoring and diagnostics reduce the servicing costs.
Falling into line with mainstream thought
There’s added value for the end user, and the potential for new business for installers. At the present time, that can’t be bad, can it?
“We’re merely falling into line with the growing trend across Europe of using wireless systems for intruder alarms,” concluded Makosinski.
If Honeywell has anything to do with it, it looks very much like UK installers’ conservatism in this area will not be around for too much longer.
Security Management Today Online would like to thank Tony Makosinski and Martin Pacitti for their invaluable assistance with this article
