An Analysis on Electrical Fire Alarm Systems

in Accordance to the PEC

Jes Buaron, Christopher Gerald De Ungria, Roi Dipasupil, Sean Cabalse
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
University of the Philippines Diliman
Quezon City, Philippines

Abstract​— Electrical Fire Alarm systems in principal

consideration in construction of the electrical system
and buildings entirely. This paper offers and in depth
analysis on the provisions and considerations on the
construction of electrical fire alarm systems in
accordance to the PEC.. Similarly, this paper aims to
offer interpretation that can be understood with
minimal to no knowledge of electrical design.

Index terms: ​Fire alarm systems, electrical system,

PEC, NEC

I. INTRODUCTION
Fire alarm systems are important parts of
structures, especially those which are house a large Fig. 1. Non-Power Limited Fire Alarm Circuits
number of people such as office buildings or
apartment units. In setting up these systems, it is Moreover, power-limited fire alarm circuits
imperative that they be installed correctly in (PLFA) must comply with either inherently limited,
accordance with the Philippine Electrical Code (PEC) which is designed to trip system connection during
as to ensure that they will operate as intended, and so overload, or not inherently limited power supply.
that they themselves will not be sources of the fire Power supply should comply with the values in
hazards that they are supposed to prevent. Tables 1 and 2.
The language and written structure of the PEC is
made with brevity and is aimed to be concise. TABLE I
However, it may appear to be difficult to understand Not​-​Inherently Limited (ac) [Chapter 9, Table 12 (A)]
the written provisions contained in the PEC due to Overcurrent Power Protection
some vague written structure and engineering-limited Voltage
terms. There is an imperative need to summarize the
0V to 200V 5.0 x V 5A
necessary provisions stated, particularly the electrical
fire alarm systems to aid people with no or minimal 21V to 100V 100VA 100/V
understanding of electrical design understand.
101V to 150V 100VA 1A
II. PEC PROVISIONS
Fire alarm systems are covered in article 7.60 in TABLE II
the PEC. First, it is established that Fire Alarm Inherently Limited (ac) [Chapter 9, Table 12 (A)]
Circuits are either classified as either power-limited Voltage Power
or non-power limited circuits. It could operate up to
600 V or to the listed markings of the power supply 0V to 200V 5.0 x V

for non-power limited and power-limited circuits 21V to 100V 100VA

respectively. See Fig 1. for non-power limited fire
alarm circuits (NPLFA).
 It is to be understood that NPLFA circuits are
usually used on industrial or commercial settings
where motors or circuits are heavily employed and
the PLFA circuits are not restricted to specific uses.
Thus, for settings that are understood to have heavy
employed circuits, such as hospitals, malls and the
like, NPLFA circuits should be used. In this regard,
the fire alarm circuits should be identifiable at its
terminal and junction connections to avoid any
unintentional tampering of the system that could
possibly trigger the response of the system. See Fig.
2.
Fig. 2. Illustration on identification of fire alarm circuit
A primary concern of fire alarm systems is to
prevent any possible cause of fire. Thus, abandoned
fire alarm cables that are not connected to terminal or
not identified with a tag must be removed as
illustrated in Fig 3. This simultaneously implies that
cable wires which are placed for future use must be
tag of a material that can withstand the location
conditions.
. ​Fig. 3. Illustration of removal of abandoned cables
Under the Fire Alarm System provision of the
PEC, it is specified that wiring and equipments of the
fire alarm system should be sleeved and restrained
with any firestopping material fit for the specific
location conditions. It could be in forms of brick, dry
wall, appropriate sleeves with high temperature
tolerance and so forth. An example can be observed
in Fig 4.
Fig. 4. Illustration of firestopping provision
Furthermore, all wiring connections of the fire
alarm system follows the similar provision for the
wiring and sizing as permitted in the second chapter
of the PEC. A strict allowance of space is considered
in sizing raceways. It should have enough space for
installation or removal of conductors contained
without risking to damage insulation of conductors.
Ease of access to fire alarm circuit equipments
must be observed. The PEC states that there must be
no accumulation of conductors and cables that could
prevent or delay access to suspended equipments,
particularly, panels. See Fig 5 for illustration.
 Fig. 4. Illustration of Fire Alarm Cable Installation
The wiring methods of fire alarm circuits follows
that all terminations or junctions must be enclosed in
listed fittings. Furthermore, cables should be
supported by straphs, hangers and similar structures
to avoid damaging the cables. For exposed cables,
structural components of the building should be able
to provide support albeit building use.
Conductors of a PLFA system are specified to be
prohibited to be in any enclosures, raceway or cable,
containing conductors of electric light, power or
Class 1 circuits., as opposed to conductors of NPLFA
systems which shall be permitted to occupy the same
enclosure or raceway without regard to whether the
individual circuits are carrying AC or DC. This is to
avoid any possibility of fire from a possible short
circuit of the fire alarm conductors and
higher-voltage conductors. However, PLFA
conductors is permitted to be in one raceway together
with Class 3 conductors, communication conductors
and the like. See Fig. 5.
Fig. 5. Illustration of Fire Alarm Cable enclosure
The aforementioned provisions above from the
PEC are seen to be primary considerations in
constructing an electrical fire alarm system and thus
selected to be the central focus of interpretation in
this paper. Furthermore, it should be understood that
the wiring and sizing of the conductors, conduits,
feeders and so forth should follow Chapter 2 of the
PEC unless or otherwise specified in this Chapter.
The concern of using optical fiber cables is applicable
in the installation of electrical fire alarm systems
given that the provision stated in Article 7.70 of the
PEC is followed, which is no longer covered in this
paper.
III. APPLICATION
In this part of the paper, three settings with
fire alarm systems were analyzed to establish the
compliance of building construction to the PEC
provisions.
As mentioned earlier, the applications of fire
alarm systems can be found in office buildings, such
as the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
(EEEI) in the University of the Philippines-Diliman.
Fig. 6. Illustration of Fire Alarm Cable enclosure
Figure 6 shows the wiring schedule used in the UP
EEEI new building. Intermediate Metal Conduit
(IMC) was used as seen fit to the location conditions.
Moreover, the 15mm diameter is selected to provide
enough space for the total number of wire and in
accordance to the space allocation needed to make
wire removal and installation easier, without risking
to damage other wires.
Fig. 7. Illustration of FACP connection to power house
Figure 7 shows the wiring connection of the Fire
Alarm Circuit Panel (FACP) to the power house. As
shown, the panel is connected to two (2) fire alarm
bell via K-labeled wiring. The FACP is also
connected to five (5) heat detector units via J-labeled
wiring (See Figure 6 for wiring reference). The
J-labeled wiring uses Twisted Pair Shielded Cable
(TPSC) while the the K-labeled wiring using TW, the
difference is due to the fact that the TPSC was used
to ensure that there will be no interference to the
signal from the heat detectors. Furthermore, the
location of the FACP is suspended from the ground
floor for the purpose that it will be positioned at
eye-level for ease of identification and access as seen
in Figure 8.

Fig. 9.Riser Diagram from DepEd

As a comparison, the riser diagram for the old

Fig. 8. Illustration of FACP relative to the ground floor
building of EEEI is shown in Fig.10. It can be seen
that new conduits shall be rigid steel or EMT, as was
deemed appropriate for the old building. Moreover,
both wire alarm circuits and wire bell circuits are
serviced by conduits with a diameter of 15mm, as this
would fit the four-1.25mm​2 and two-1.25mm​2 ​in the
alarm and bell circuits, respectively in accordance
with the PEC, similar to what was done in the new
building.

The ease of access is one of the evident provisions

that is of paramount of importance. Next, the riser
diagram for one of the buildings for the Department
of Education that was made available online was
selected to emphasize this. In the document, with the
riser diagram shown in Figure 9, the mounting height
of the wiring devices were stated to be 1.50 meters
above the finish floor and 0.30 meters below ceiling
line for the fire alarm station outlet and fire alarm bell
respectively. The fire alarm outlet is placed at 1.50 m
from the floor to be in line of sight and for ease of
Fig. 10. Riser diagram for the old EEEI building
access.

IV. CONCLUSION
Fire alarm systems are of primary importance in
construction of any building. The understanding of
the provisions stated in the Philippine Electrical Code
is imperative for the proper installation of electrical
fire alarm systems. The electrical wiring of fire alarm
systems follows that of the second chapter of the PEC
which stipulates the generally wiring regulations for
electrical equipment. Moreover, the general
provisions regarding fire alarm systems primarily
focuses on the prevention of any fire hazard that
could occur in the wiring system as well as the
user-accessibility to the system.

V. REFERENCES
[1] H. Saadat, Power system analysis. Boston: McGraw-Hill,
2004.
[2] Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the
Philippines., ​Philippine Electrical Code.​ Quezon City,
Cubao: Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the
Philippines.
[3] M. Holt, “Mike Holt's Illustrated Guide to Article 760- Fire
Alarm Systems,” Mar. 2015.
[4]