Lifetone Technology HLAC150-series Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock Specifications and Features

Transcription

1 Lifetone Technology HLAC150-series Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock Specifications and Features 1. INTRODUCTION AND DEVICE CLASSIFICATION 2. PRODUCT SAFETY LISTINGS 3. STANDARDS AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE 4. SMOKE ALARM INPUT SENSITIVITY 5. EMERGENCY ALARM AND ALERTING OUTPUTS 6. SAFETY AND INTERNAL MONITORING 7. POWER 8. DURABILITY 9. TESTING 10. ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONALITY 11. DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 1. INTRODUCTION AND DEVICE CLASSIFICATION The HLAC Bedside Fire Alarm & Clock is a UL-listed accessory to single- and multiplestation smoke alarms, as defined by UL 217, Standard for Safety for Single- and Multiple- Station Smoke Alarms. It is AC-powered with 7-day battery backup. The HLAC combines an alarm clock with acoustic smoke-alarm detection. Its output includes a UL 217-compliant low-frequency (520 Hz) acoustic alarm and UL compliant tactile alerting by means of a vibrating disk called a bed shaker. These two technologies have been shown to be most effective for waking and emergency arousal of children, people with hearing loss, older adults, and people intoxicated by alcohol. Those groups comprise the people most at risk of dying in a nighttime fire emergency in the United States. Because of these scientific findings, the residential and commercial chapters of NFPA 72 (2010 edition, Ch. 7, Ch. 11) have been recently reviewed and updated to mandate lowfrequency (520 Hz) square-wave smoke or fire alarms in residences and commercial sleeping rooms occupied by people with hearing loss. In time this will extend to all commercial sleeping rooms. The HLAC meets these requirements. 2. PRODUCT SAFETY LISTING 2.1. The HLAC is listed by UL to UL 217 Standard for Safety for Single- and Multiple- Station Smoke Alarms, Sixth Edition, October 2008, with revisions through October The HLAC is listed by UL as a low-frequency sounder, for use with both residential smoke alarms and commercial notification appliances, with or without optional bed shaker The HLAC is listed by UL to UL 1971 Signaling Devices for the Hearing Impaired when used with bed shaker Listings may be verified by means of the UL Online Certifications Directory by searching with "Lifetone Technology" or "S24639" (the Lifetone Technology file number). Click on the category label on the right of the search results to view the listing file card with details about the listing. HLAC150-series Specifications & Features Page 1 of 7

2 3. STANDARDS AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE UL 217, ULC S531, and UL 1971 as described in Section 2, Product Safety Listings National Fire Alarm Code NFPA 72, 2007, and subsequent editions through Meets pending NFPA 72 requirements and recommendations through ANSI S Audible Emergency Evacuation Signal, 1990 ISO-8201 Audible Emergency Evacuation Signal, 1987 RoHS compliant Complies with California Proposition SMOKE ALARM INPUT SENSITIVITY 4.1. The HLAC detects acoustic T-3 smoke-detector alarm sounds, defined by ISO 8201, UL 217, NFPA 72 and ANSI S3.41, in the range of 2800 Hz to 3600 Hz. 1 The T-3 temporal pattern 2 is illustrated here: 4.2. The HLAC detects T-3 alarm sounds at 10 dba above relatively stable background noise levels up to 85 dba. At low and stable background noise levels (20 to 30 dba), sensitivity may be greater The response time is 30 seconds, or seven T-3 cycles, within the specified sensitivity level The HLAC150 series uses an adaptive threshold algorithm to provide optimized sensitivity where desirable, in order to minimize nuisance alarms or HLAC alarm cascade in installations with multiple HLAC units. 3 1 Standards in effect prior to 2014 do not specify the frequency of the T-3 evacuation signal of a smoke alarm. Smoke alarms typically use piezo crystal sounders that operate in that range. Sounders using speakers or bells have harmonics in that range. 2 UL 217, 6th Ed, Oct 2008, section 34.3, requires a T-3 signal period of 4 seconds ±10% for at least the first eight cycles of the smoke alarm output. The installed base contains a significant number of T-3 smoke alarms that exceed this tolerance. The HLAC150 series responds to T-3 periods ranging from 2.8 to 5.4 seconds in duration. However, the T-3 period is required to be consistent for at least the first eight T-3 cycles. Some First Alert talking alarms made in 2010 and before do not meet this UL 217 requirement and therefore are not compatible with the HLAC. 3 The HLAC will detect and respond to the sound of another HLAC alarm. This is useful in environments such as large residences with single-station alarms. But it may be a nuisance in other environments, such as adjacent apartments where testing with live smoke alarms is required. If the HLAC150 series is set up with a nearby in-room alarm, the adaptive threshold will allow it to ignore an HLAC alarm from an adjacent apartment, assuming 20 dba of sound attenuation provided by walls and distance. HLAC150-series Specifications & Features Page 2 of 7

3 4.5. The threshold is established during setup. The user is instructed to set up the HLAC150 series with the most distant smoke alarm that should be detected. The HLAC sets its threshold to that sound-pressure level minus 10 db, making the unit sensitive to a slightly fainter alarm than the one used at setup. There is no adaptive effect if the sound-pressure level of the setup alarm is below 20 dba, and sensitivity will be at a maximum in normal operation (section 4.2). In the case of multiple interconnected alarms, Lifetone recommends that the HLAC be set up with the nearest smoke alarm, to minimize interference from more distant asynchronous alarms An enhanced sensitivity mode is initiated for 2 minutes when the HLAC is silenced. The sound level required for detection in enhanced sensitivity mode is the same as that for the normal mode, but only two T-3 cycles are required. 5. EMERGENCY ALARM AND ALERTING OUTPUTS 5.1. The HLAC emits a low-frequency (520 Hz) acoustic emergency alarm tone in the international T-3 evacuation signal pattern (UL 217, section 34.3; NFPA 72; ANSI S3.41; and ISO 8201), in addition to flashing a "FIRE" message and activating a vibrating bed shaker The HLAC150 series also interpolates a loud baritone voice message saying "Fire! Get out!" into the 1.5-second interval between the sets of T-3 pulses The T-3 emergency alarm acoustic power is at least 85 dba at 3 feet or at the pillow (UL 217 section 65.4) The bed-shaker alerting device is provided as standard equipment, with provision for optional use The pulsating emergency bed shaker alarm pattern and vibration signal strength are as specified by UL 1971 section , b The emergency alarm will cease after 10 minutes if not silenced. However, the HLAC enters enhanced-sensitivity mode for 2 minutes, and will sound the alarm again within 15 seconds if the smoke alarm signal recurs or is still present There is a temporary silence function for the HLAC emergency alarm (UL 217 section 7.1) that is activated by pressing the TEST/SILENCE button on the back of the unit. However, if the smoke alarm signal remains present, the HLAC will declare an alarm again within 15 seconds To alert the user to missing or depleted batteries, the HLAC employs acoustic, visual (flashing orange screen with "BATT"), and tactile (vibratory) stimuli Bed-shaker status and fault condition alerts are provided by acoustic and visual (flashing orange screen with "beds", in the case of a fault) messages. An LCD icon indicates that the bed shaker is plugged in The bed shaker is a standard accessory, but its use is optional. The HLAC can be set up to operate without a bed shaker by not plugging it in at setup. If set up with the bed shaker, the HLAC can be reconfigured without the bed shaker by conducting a manual self test without the bed shaker. To restore use of the bed shaker, it need only be plugged back in at any time Absence of AC power is indicated by an unlit power LED and by a flashing wall plug icon on the LCD screen. HLAC150-series Specifications & Features Page 3 of 7

4 6. SAFETY AND INTERNAL MONITORING 800 Research Parkway, Suite The HLAC will detect only smoke alarms that emit a UL 217-compliant T-3 smoke alarm signal (UL 217, 34.3). Because there are older alarms in the installed base that do not use a T-3 smoke alarm signal, the HLAC requires a smoke alarm compatibility test when power is applied As a fail-safe feature, the HLAC constantly monitors its internal program functioning and integrity. In the event of a failure of the detection program, there will be acoustic, LCD visual (flashing orange screen with "8888"), and tactile (vibratory) alerts The unit cannot be used for any purpose while a program failure alert is in progress, and all power must be removed to stop it. The unit cannot be used as a stand-alone daily alarm clock if the smoke-alarm detection program fails Emergency detection and alarm output take precedence over the wakeup alarm function and battery and bed-shaker error notification (UL 217 section 6.1) There is capability for simultaneous display of multiple user-correctable status notifications as flashing text and icons on the LCD screen, including low-battery condition and bed-shaker faults The bed shaker is water resistant to a level 3 standard ingress-protection (IP) condition code, defined by IEC 60529, Degrees of Protection Provided by Enclosures. The bed shaker is washable and spray resistant but will not withstand immersion There is continuous bed-shaker supervisory monitoring and error notification for an electrical open or short-circuit condition at 2-second intervals unless the unit has been configured to operate without the bed shaker There is monitoring of the bed-shaker connection status at 2-second intervals, independent of bed-shaker open or short status, with error notification for a disconnected condition at 5-second intervals, unless the unit has been configured to operate without the bed shaker The bed shaker will cease operation if the case temperature exceeds 110 F (43.3 C), and will resume operation when temperature falls below 100 F (37.8 C). The bed shaker will operate for at least 12 minutes before case temperature exceeds the upper limit There is no electrical power exposed at the bed-shaker connection if the bed shaker is not connected, or if the bed shaker is open or short There is provision for functional self-test of acoustic input and output functions and the optional bed shaker at first power-on, and manually at user discretion. If a self-test is failed, an unmistakable failure notification is presented (described in sections 6.2 and 6.3), and the unit cannot be used as a clock alone The HLAC enforces the requirement for the presence of functional external smoke alarms when power is first applied. If an active UL 217-compliant T-3 smoke alarm is not present and functional during the setup test, the failure notification is presented until all power is removed. The unit cannot be set up as a stand-alone clock. 4 4 Because there are some older homes with smoke alarms made before 1999 that may use a different audible signal, the presence of T-3 alarms cannot be assumed, but must be demonstrated when the unit is installed. The smoke alarm compatibility or setup test required by the power-up sequence enforces this. See user documentation for procedural details. HLAC150-series Specifications & Features Page 4 of 7

5 6.13. At setup, the HLAC150 series requires two consecutive T-3 cycles from a smoke detector Silencing the HLAC emergency alarm does not disable detection. The unit places itself in enhanced-sensitivity mode for 2 minutes after the alarm is silenced Sensitivity is enhanced after silencing to minimize the potential for ignoring an emergency alarm. The HLAC will respond to a continued T-3 alarm within 15 seconds. In the event of a smoke-detector false alarm from cooking aerosols, the smoke alarm must be silenced first, and then the HLAC Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock. Otherwise the HLAC will detect the smoke alarm again within 15 seconds. 7. POWER 7.1. The HLAC is AC powered, with 7-day battery backup (UL 217 section 14.1, , ). The unit will operate on batteries for a period of 168 cumulative hours without AC power, and provide 10 minutes of full-power alarm output The power supply is an AC/DC Class II UL-approved power adapter. Input: volts, 50/60 Hz, 500 ma. Output: 1.5 A, 6.5 VDC. Plug style: NEMA 1-15, unpolarized Battery monitoring and low-battery alert is in accordance with UL 217 section A low-battery alert is issued at 1-minute intervals when the remaining power is insufficient for 24 hours of operation on battery alone There is a visible AC power indicator (UL 217 section ) in the form of a red LED The bed shaker contains a 6 VDC, 1-amp motor with an eccentric weight. Power is supplied by a 6-foot cord and plug to make it detachable. 8. DURABILITY 8.1. The endurance and physical-abuse resistance of the HLAC clock and alarm detection unit are to standards specified by applicable portions of UL 217 (sections 47-49, 50-51, 53-54, 56-58, 66, 69, 71, and 76) The bed-shaker endurance and physical-abuse resistance are to standards specified by UL 1971 sections 31, 34, 42, 43, 44, and The bed shaker offers an expected service life of 120 cumulative hours of activation The bed shaker is water resistant to a level-3 ingress-protection (IP) standard as defined by IEC The bed shaker is not immersible. 9. TESTING 9.1. The HLAC has a manual test function initiated by pressing the TEST/SILENCE button on the back of the unit when an alarm is not in progress. When the TEST/SILENCE button is pressed, the HLAC displays "TEST" on the screen and conducts a test of its microphone, speaker, and alarm output. This is similar to the audible test function provided by smoke alarms, with the addition of the microphone and speaker test In addition to the manual test of microphone, speaker, and alarm output, the HLAC may be functionally tested with all of a user's installed smoke alarms by first simulating an emergency by presenting 7 or 8 consecutive T-3 signals to initiate an HLAC alarm. This is most easily accomplished by means of a smoke alarm that will HLAC150-series Specifications & Features Page 5 of 7

6 produce T-3 signals as long as the test button is held down. After silencing by the button on the back, the HLAC operates in enhanced sensitivity mode for 2 minutes. During that time the HLAC will respond to two T-3 cycles of a smoke alarm. Each time such an alarm is detected and the HLAC is silenced with the silence button, the 2-minute period of enhanced sensitivity begins again. The user may move from one smoke alarm to another inside the 2-minute time windows, testing with each one, to establish the limits of detection in a household with multiple smoke alarms. The adaptive threshold is active during the functional test, so the actual smoke alarm sound level required for detection during normal operation is demonstrated during functional testing. 10. ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONALITY The HLAC is a full-function bedside wake-up alarm clock There is a large-digit 12- or 24-hour time display of inches (29 mm) Clock accuracy is ±1 second per day on main AC power or battery backup power There is an acoustic (520 Hz intermittent tone), visual (flashing time display), and (vibratory) wake-up alarm The 520 Hz wake-up alarm tone is a rapid, fixed-interval, adjustable-volume tone that is easily distinguishable from the T-3 emergency signal The tactile wake-up alert is a constant vibration easily distinguished from the pulsating emergency alarm The wake-up alarm has high and low volume levels. However, the emergency alarm is always sounded at maximum volume When on backup power, the wake-up alarm will sound once during the first 24 hours of a sustained AC power outage. The ensures a reliable wake-up function if a temporary power outage happens to coincide with the time the wake-up alarm is scheduled The illuminated LCD time display offers three levels of brightness (high, low and off). When on AC power, the LCD time display is lit at the selected level of brightness When on backup battery power the LCD screen is off, but when the SNOOZE bar is pressed the LCD screen is illuminated for 5 seconds The day of the week is displayed in addition to the calendar date The 12/24 hour format for time of day and alarm time display is selectable There is a 10-minute repeating snooze function for the wake-up alarm. An alarm status icon flashes during the silent snooze period to indicate that the wake-up alarm is still active The HLAC is a fire safety device; the clock function is secondary. Therefore the unit must be set up with a smoke alarm. The HLAC cannot be used for the alarm clock function alone. 11. DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT The main unit measures approximately 8½" wide 4½" high 3¾" deep, excluding the AC power cord. The power cord is 6' long. HLAC150-series Specifications & Features Page 6 of 7

7 11.2. The main unit weighs approximately 1½ lb without batteries, or 2 lb 12 oz with batteries inserted The bed shaker attachment, excluding cord, measures approximately 4" in diameter 1¼" thick. The bed-shaker cord is 6' long The bed shaker weighs approximately 7 oz. Lifetone Doc #HLACFS HLAC150-series Specifications & Features Page 7 of 7