How to power fire gates in accordance with the regulations?

Fire gates are included in the catalogs of many manufacturers. They have been tested in accordance with the EN 1634-1 standard: "Fire resistance tests for door and shutter sets", so they have specific parameters of fire resistance and smoke tightness. Manufacturers, however, do not mention how the sliding mechanisms should be powered.

Fire automation devices, including power supplies for fire-fighting devices, must meet the requirements of the relevant standards. In the case of power supplies for fire gates, these are two harmonized standards applicable throughout the European Union:

〉❱ EN 54-4: "Fire alarm systems - Part 4: Power supplies",

〉 ❱ EN 12101-10: "Smoke and heat control systems - Part 10: Power supplies".

In addition, when introducing a product to the Polish market, it is necessary to obtain an appropriate admission certificate in accordance with the Regulation of the Ministry of Interior and Administration of April 27, 2010, point 12.2. All standards specify in detail how to test power supplies for fire protection devices that can power, among other things, fire gates. Such devices guarantee correct operation in fire conditions, when there may be, among others, power dips or power failures, or a reduction in the quality of the supplied power. At the same time, we must not forget about the need to provide two power sources. In addition to the guaranteed power supply, you should remember about a second independent source, which can be, apart from the second external power supply line, e.g. a power generator or battery batteries. Manufacturers offer devices designed to reliably power and maintain the operation of fire protection devices powered by 230 V or 24 V. Their task is to guarantee the voltage from the electromagnetic network, and in the event of its failure, to supply voltage from the internal battery with appropriate power.

Most often, the devices are scalable to generate an output power of 400 W to 3000 W. Thanks to this, they can power small devices such as dampers, fire gates and single-phase fans. In the standby mode - when no signal about entering the fire alarm mode is given, the power supply continuously supplies the appropriate voltage at its outputs. It uses power from the electromagnetic network. The device's internal buffer power supply consumes the minimum current to power the automation devices, controls the operation of the voltage converter and controls the charging and operation of the internal battery. When the signal about entering the fire alarm mode appears, the power supply goes into the emergency operation mode. The mains voltage is disconnected. The automatics in the power supply switches to drawing energy from the internal batteries of the accumulator. [...] Read more in Cyrkulacje magazine.

Article by Wojciech Rytlewski, Research and Development Director, Fire Ventilation Systems Department at Mercor