System Design; Equipment Guarantee; Eacie Panel Features - C-TEC EACIE Installation, Maintenance & Operating Manual

EACIE Evacuation Alert Control and Indicating Equipment
1.4

System Design

Evacuation alert system design is beyond the scope of this document. A basic understanding of general
evacuation alert system components and their use is assumed.
Contact the Fire Officer concerned with the property at an early stage in case he has any special requirements.
We strongly recommend that fire and rescue service (FRS), or appropriate building control body, are consulted
in connection with the design of the evacuation alert systems.
The equipment must be installed, operated and maintained in accordance with these instructions and the
appropriate national, regional or local regulations.
We strongly recommend you read BS 8629, code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and
maintenance of evacuation alert systems for use by the FRS in buildings containing flats.
1.5

Equipment Guarantee

This equipment is not guaranteed unless the complete installation is installed and commissioned in accordance
with the laid down national, regional or local standards (in the UK this is BS 8629) by an approved and
competent person or organisation.

2 EACIE PANEL FEATURES

The EACIE is a BS 8629 compliant control panel used with C-TEC's EVAC-ALERT system. It is designed
exclusively for use by the fire and rescue service (FRS) in a building emergency situation. Providing a clear,
straightforward interface, the EACIE panel allows the FRS to operate evacuation alert devices located in
residential flats.
Evacuation alert devices include sounders, visual indicators and vibrating pillow pads (see Evacuation Alert
System Overview, section 5.6). In addition to controlling and monitoring the system, the EACIE panel provides
visual and audible warnings of any faults on the system, e.g. open or short-circuit faults, power supply fault.
Fault signals may be sent to an alarm receiving centre (ARC) or C-TEC's ENVISION cloud-based data
management system.
Housed in a robust, vandal-resistant locked cabinet, the EACIE panel has individual robust toggle switches
with associated LED indicators for each evacuation alert zone in a building. Note: Toggle switches can be
programmed and labelled on a zone-by-zone or floor-by-floor basis.
Highly flexible, the EACIE is comprised of EN 54-2/4 third-party certified components and can be used to
create a customised evacuation alert system in consultation with the relevant FRS.
Dependant on the model purchased the EACIE panel includes the following features:

Complies with the requirements of BS 8629 (if installed correctly).

Compatible with C-TEC's EVAC-ALERT system.

Compatible with C-TEC's sounder controllers and C-TEC's ActiV range of sounders and visual indicators.

Full compatibility with C-TEC's CAST® (C-TEC Addressable System Technology) - a powerful,
proprietary communication protocol.

Available in 1, 2, or 4 loop models.

Up to 48 evacuation alert zones on a single EACIE panel, extendable up to 200 zones on a shared EACIE
system.

Extendable to a networked system using C-TEC's CAST ZFP panels.

Mains powered with internal 5A EN 54-4/A2 PSU and battery backup.

Up to 22Ah capacity battery backup should provide standby power for 72 hours plus 30 minutes in
alarm (the standby time of 72 hours is dependent on the system specification – see BS 8629). Standby
batteries are accommodated for fitting internally in the EACIE panel, or fitted in an external battery
enclosure. EACIE panel battery/loop calculator tools are available for download on C-TEC's website
assist with system designs.
www.c-tec.com to

Fault signals may be sent to an alarm receiving centre (ARC) or C-TEC's ENVISION data management
system.
Page 5 of 38  Approved Document No. DFU5030020 Rev 1  Installation and Programming Manual