Accon have just launched their Trilogy system (Patents Pending) which combines a Category A Fire signal, Network data, and Uninterruptable Power through a single Cat5e/6 cable, removing the need to install any services at the door.
With a traditional system, running separate fire signal, network, and power cables to each door or device can sometimes be difficult, time consuming and expensive, PoE is an option but you still have to run a separate fire cable/interface to the door and supply batteries at some point.
Accon’s R & D Director Ren Kitchener says “To us it was an obvious natural progression that developing a new midspan system that enabled the installer to run just a single cable to the door which combines all three services was definitely the future. Taking this approach also offered a significant reduction both in time and cost in designing, installing, cabling and maintaining a system”
With each Accon Trilogy hub being able to support up to 8 devices, either PoE or classically powered, it’s an extremely cost effective approach and is also flexible enough to connect a mixture of access control types, magnetic locks, hold open or free swing door closers, IP PTZ CCTV’s, IP audio/video entrance systems, door hold back devices or in fact any IP device requiring power and/or a fire interface.
Ren also makes the point that “Apart from being able to inject a fire signal down the Cat5e/6 cable, it’s also the construction of our system that sets it apart, such as monitored, redundant, load sharing switch mode bulk power supplies offering the same availability as you would expect on an oil platform control system, remote connect/disconnect of the battery during maintenance and installation, regulated 3 hour DC battery back-up instead of using unreliable DC-to AC inverters with a take up delay (often incorrectly referred to as a UPS), and the fail safe remote test facility to check that the fire signal has actually interrupted the door lock supply via the double pole relay (remote fire test), which all add up to a high quality, high reliability system that will notably reduce CAPEX and OPEX”.
