Critical power: Power for emergency fire/life safety systems
Thursday, April 23, 2020

#CSEPowerForFireLifeSafety

Emergency and standby systems are used to provide backup power for building systems to provide assurance that fire/life safety systems and critical equipment can maintain their operation during a power outage. The use of these systems almost comes as second nature when designing large, complex facilities. Yet, how well do you know the specific requirements for these systems? Questions we must consider include:

• When is emergency and standby power required?
• What are the requirements for the design of an emergency and standby power system?
• What building fire safety systems need to be provided with emergency and standby power?
• What are the primary challenges with small emergency systems versus large emergency systems?

Learning objectives:

• Know the relevant codes and standards, such as the International Building Code, the International Fire Code, NFPA 1, NFPA 70, NFPA 110 and NFPA 5000.
• Understand what building systems are affected, such as voice alarm/communication, emergency egress, elevators, smoke control systems and more.
• Learn about different building types, such as high-rises, hospitals and other facilities that have unique requirements.
• Glean a basic understanding of the different systems and their design requirements through examples/case studies.