Electrotel NSW

Axiom or Famco Emergency lights Monitoring System

Blog | July 25th, 2018

Deservedly viewed as a critical part of any building installation, emergency lighting systems exist to prevent injuries. After all, when the power fails in a near-windowless building, it’s hard to resist certain impulses. There’s fear, the notion that you’re trapped. Is there a fire? Has there been an earthquake or some other dire emergency? Thankfully, light failure panic is becoming a thing of the past thanks to emergency light monitoring systems.

What’s Being Monitored? 

In years gone by, emergency lighting systems didn’t deserve that label. They were powered by mains electricity, and they all illuminated automatically when that power failed, but that’s about all they had in common. Emergency lights monitoring systems connect all discrete lighting units into a single network. Hosted on that interconnected system, every node in that framework falls under the control of a central monitoring unit, which is a kind of microprocessor-powered hub. Let’s check out Axiom and Famco, who are two of the giants in this important field.

Exploring Famco Monitoring Frameworks

Modular equipment blocks dominate this monitoring scheme. It begins with a controller, which feeds to a transponder unit, then an electronic interface is set up between the modules and the structures’ many emergency lighting fixtures. Up to 4095 separate light fittings can be controlled from the Supervising Control Unit (SCU), and the underlying software enables system administrators to manage the equipment via a remotely hooked computer or smartphone. Finally, on the LCD screen or computer monitor, there’s a graphical display that shows every fitting and its current status.

Equalled By the Axiom Monitoring Solution 

The concept is exactly the same, but the labels are different. Axiom monitors utilize Wireless Area Controllers, which interface with a centralized computer. Exit signs and backup emergency lights, twin floodlights and bulkhead fixtures, they can all be quickly hooked into the central wireless controller and to numerous circuit sensing modules. Just like before, the software platform is compatible with computers and other smart devices, plus there’s a graphical interface to monitor the various emergency fixtures.

According to the AS/NZS2293 building codes, emergency lighting systems must be checked on a regular basis to ensure they’ll operate when a power failure occurs. Again, in years gone by, discrete fixtures and fire alarm switches could only be checked one at a time. It was a manual chore, a laborious task, but it had to be done. Those regulations are still relevant today, but now the separate circuit elements are all networked. Just by sending an automated signal, an Axiom or Famco emergency lights monitoring system can instantly manage the status of any fitting, even if there are thousands of lights on the system.

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