TLX Fire & Security’s electric actuators for fire suppression systems meet the requirements of the anticipated revision to EN 15004-1.
The United States and many other countries rely on safety standards outlined by NFPA, while Europe follows ISO and EN standards. Although there are many similarities in the standards between these bodies, they are not identical. Over time, however, there is a tendency for these standards to align as each body addresses common issues.
The revision to EN 15004-1 is expected to include a requirement for both audible and visual alarms at the fire control panel when the actuator is removed from the discharge or selector valve of the cylinder containing the extinguishing agent. This would bring EN 15004-1 into alignment with the NFPA 2001 standard for actuator supervision that was first introduced in 2012 and became mandatory in 2016.
NFPA first adopted this standard in response to reports of incidents where technicians failed to properly install the actuator—either during initial installation or after maintenance—preventing the system from discharging. The dual alarms help to ensure that improper actuator installation cannot go unnoticed.
TLX responded to the NFPA regulation by developing a series of linear electric actuators with the supervisory feature integrated directly into the actuator, eliminating the need for a secondary component. If the actuator is removed from the valve, the audible and visual alarms are triggered and will be canceled when the actuator is correctly installed. This feature is now found on all of TLX’s actuators and valves for fire suppression systems.
TLX’s patented design already satisfies the NFPA 2001 supervision requirement, and because EN 15004-1 will now align with the existing NFPA standard, TLX’s actuators are solutions that are ready to serve the European market.
