Silent Knight Introduces Fully Integrated Fire Alarm and Emergency Voice System

Silent Knight by Honeywell (NYSE: HON) introduces the IntelliKnight 5820XL-EVS, a standalone system combining addressable fire alarm and emergency voice systems in one package, eliminating the standard use of a costly and confusing “side-car” voice control system. As the only fully-integrated system of its kind to be made available through security equipment distributors, the 5820XL-EVS offers facility managers a single solution, built on proven technology with all the benefits of a non-proprietary system. Installers will gain efficiencies from this new system’s inheritance of Silent Knight same simple installation procedures and design flexibility. [“Click for High-Resolution Images”]

In addition to Silent Knight’s same simple, smart, and reliable fire protection, the 5820XL-EVS offers a powerful platform for sending real time emergency communications. This system’s hardware and programming options remain the same as the IntelliKnight 5820XL fire alarm control panel. To enable the Emergency Voice System (EVS) capabilities, installers have new modules and a variety of new programming options they can utilize to tailor this system to the most simplistic or complex emergency communication needs of any facility.

“Both fire alarm and emergency communication systems are defined by NFPA 72 as Life Safety Systems, so it makes sense to combine these systems into one control,” says Loren Schreiber, Silent Knight product marketing manager.

To allow live and recorded messages to be directed to an entire facility or only specific areas, all 5820XL-EVS speaker circuits are mappable.

This system’s large capacity makes it ideal for medium to large facilities which can benefit greatly from the Silent Knight amplifiers’ ability to be installed where needed. By eliminating the common method of running all speaker wire back to a main control unit, these “intelligent” amplifiers allow speaker power to be distributed, significantly reducing speaker wire runs and installation time. Any combination of up to four 50 watt or 125 watt amplifiers can be placed throughout a building to provide as much as 500 watts of power. This high power can meet the intelligibility requirements for many challenging applications such as large-scale buildings and areas with high-ambient noise levels.

The 5820XL-EVS meets the fire alarm and emergency communications standards prescribed by NFPA 72: National Fire Alarm & Signaling Code®, Department of Defense Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 4-021-01, and Underwriters Laboratories 2572 Standard for Control and Communications Units for Mass Notification Systems. Silent Knight’s new EVS-RCU (Remote Control Unit) also meets the UFC requirements for Local Operator Consoles (LOC).

“The EVS part of this system enables you to set the priority of messages. Through programming, critical emergency communications can override a fire alarm message,” says Schreiber. “This critical piece, which is an NFPA requirement, can prevent a manual fire alarm from being pulled and emptying a building full of people outside to a dangerous situation.”

The availability of the 5820XL-EVS through security equipment distribution means parts are readily available through nearly every major distributor across the U.S. Its non-proprietary nature also allows any licensed fire alarm dealer to install and maintain the system, preventing facilities from being locked in with one provider for service and parts.

Visit Silent Knight’s booth #10033 at the ISC West Show in Las Vegas, Nev., April 10-12, for a full system demonstration. More comprehensive technical information on Silent Knight’s fire alarm and emergency voice systems are available on SilentKnight.com.