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Commercial Fire Alarm Panels

Commercial fire alarm panels are the control and indicating equipment at the centre of a building fire system. This page holds conventional zone panels such as the K11040M2, two-wire panels such as the MAGDUO4 and TwinflexPro2, and addressable loop panels such as the XFP502/H and MA-2000-01, with repeater panels, extinguishing control, smoke control and voice evacuation panels on the same page.

Choosing Commercial Fire Alarm Panels

Settle the system type first, conventional, two-wire or addressable, then size the panel by zones or loops and match it to the devices it will run.

Conventional zone panels

A conventional panel shows which zone is in alarm, not which device. The K11040M2 Sigma CP is a 4-zone panel certified to BS EN54-2 and BS EN54-4, the QZ-4 gives four zones with two monitored sounder circuits, and the C-TEC CFP708-4 has 8 zones, four sounder circuits and a 1.5A power supply. The MAG816 covers 8 to 16 zones, with up to 32 detectors per zone.

Two-wire panels

Two-wire panels run detectors and sounders on the same pair of cables. The MAGDUO4 can tell a smoke detector, heat detector and call point alarm apart, and the TwinflexPro2 takes up to 32 Twinflex devices per zone on one screened 2-core cable. The CFP704-2 works with Apollo AlarmSense devices, and the Eaton EFBW4ZFLEXI can set any of its zones to two-wire or conventional.

Addressable panels and protocols

An addressable panel runs a loop of devices and must speak their protocol. C-TEC marks this in the code: the XFP501E/CA is CAST, the XFP502/H Hochiki and the XFP501/X Apollo XP95/Discovery. The MX-5401N is a 1 to 4 loop MxPro 5 panel for Nittan Evolution devices, the Nittan Evolution 1 takes up to 254 devices on one loop, and the MAGPRO16 handles 250 devices per loop. The Ajax 125733.315.BL EN54 Fire Hub Jeweller is a wireless panel with a 10.1in touchscreen.

Repeaters and special panels

The MAGDUOREP repeats a MAGDUO 4 or 8 zone panel at a second point. The EX-3001 and K11031M2 are extinguishing control panels, the SC-5101A runs smoke control fans and dampers, and the Comelit PAC 49CCO100 is a one-zone voice evacuation panel. C-TEC supplies the most panels on this page.

TypeExampleSize
ConventionalKentec K11040M24 zones
ConventionalC-TEC CFP708-48 zones
Two-wireMAGDUO88 zones
AddressableC-TEC XFP502/CA2 loops, 32 zones
AddressableMorley-IAS DXc44 loops
RepeaterMAG MAGPRO-REP01For MAGPRO panels
ExtinguishingKentec K11031M23 zones

Related categories

Add detectors from fire detectors and manual call points, sounders from fire alarm sounders and beacons, and see complete systems in fire alarm systems and fire alarm kits. Brand ranges include C-TEC fire panels and Morley fire panels.

Brands we stock in Commercial Fire Alarm Panels

Advanced, Ajax, Bull, C-TEC, Comelit PAC, Cygnus, Eaton, ESP, Fike, FireClass, Haes Technologies, Honeywell Commercial Security, Hoyles, Kentec Electronics, Kidde, Morley-IAS, Nittan and Vimpex.

Frequently asked questions

Should I choose a conventional or an addressable panel?

Choose addressable when the site needs to know the exact device in alarm, and conventional when zone-level indication is enough. A conventional panel such as the K11040M2 reports by zone, while a loop panel such as the Nittan Evolution 1 gives every device its own address, up to 254 on its single loop. Larger buildings often need the loops and networking of panels like the MAGPRO16.

What is a two-wire fire alarm panel?

It is a panel whose detectors, call points and sounders share one pair of cables per zone. The TwinflexPro2 uses a single screened 2-core per zone for detection and sounders, and the MAGDUO4 is a 4 zone two wire panel. This saves cable compared with a conventional zone, where detectors and sounders are usually wired as separate circuits.

Does the panel have to match the detector protocol?

Yes, an addressable panel talks to devices using its own loop protocol. The XFP502/CA is for CAST devices, the XFP502/H for Hochiki and the XFP502/X for Apollo XP95/Discovery, and the MX-5401N is configured for the Nittan Evolution protocol. Check the protocol of the detectors, call points and sounders before choosing the panel.

How many zones or loops do I need?

Enough to split the building the way the fire plan divides it, with room to spare. Conventional panels here include the 4-zone K11040M2 and the MAG816, which covers 8 to 16 zones, while the XFP502/CA gives 2 loops and 32 zones and the MA-8000-01 is a 4-loop panel expandable to 8.

What does a repeater panel do?

A repeater shows the main panel status at a second location and lets staff control the system from there. The MAGDUOREP reports MAGDUO panel events to a remote point and can silence alarms, reset, sound alarms and silence the buzzer, with up to 8 repeaters on one panel. The MAGPRO-REP01 does the same job for MAGPRO series panels.

What is an extinguishing control panel?

It is a panel that detects fire like an alarm panel and also controls the release of an extinguishing agent. The Advanced EX-3001 ExGo is a three zone panel approved to EN12094-1 and EN54 parts 2 and 4, and the Kentec K11031M2 Sigma XT is a surface mount extinguishant panel with three detection zones.

  • Established 1975
  • Birmingham trade counter
  • UK-only supply

Written by the West Midlands Electrics technical team

Updated

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