D U C T A P P L I C A T I O N S M O K E D E T E C T O R S

Section 5 An HVAC system supplies both conflicting requirements. In order to obtain a representa-
How Duct Detection conditioned air to virtually tive sample, hvac areas with stratification and dead air space
Systems Are Used to every area of the building. should be avoided. Duct smoke detectors should be located
Control Smoke Smoke detectors designed in the hvac area between 6 and 10 duct-equivalent diameters
for use in air duct systems of straight, uninterrupted run.
are used to sense presence of smoke in the duct.
Typical Single Zone HVAC System
NFPA 90A Figure 7 shows a typical single zone HVAC system. A return
NFPA 90A, “Standard for Air Conditioning and Ventilating air fan is not used in all systems. Detectors may be placed in
Systems”, requires that smoke detectors listed for duct instal- the outdoor air supply to sense if smoke is being drawn into
lations be installed at a suitable location in the main supply the system from outside of the building. It would then close
duct on the downstream side of the filters to automatically the outdoor air damper allowing the rest of the HVAC system
stop the supply fans in systems over 2,000 cfm. For systems to continue operating.
over 15,000 cfm an additional detector is required in the
return duct or plenum of each floor, at the point of entry into In the typical fan system shown in Figure 7, when any duct
the common return, or a system of spot type smoke detectors smoke detector senses smoke, the fan system will be turned
is required to provide total area coverage. (Note: Users of this off and all the dampers shown will go to their closed posi-
manual should refer to NFPA 90A for more information on tions. These actions are intended to prevent smoke from being
smoke control requirements.) The International Mechanical distributed via the air handling system to unaffected areas
Code and other codes require a duct detector in the return of a building.
for units over 2000 cfm and requires a detector in the supply
duct for systems over 15,000 cfm. Many designers require An alternate method that may be used is to only stop the
duct detectors in the supply and return in an attempt to meet supply fan and keep the return fan running. In this method
the outdoor air damper and
Exhaust Air Mixed Air Duct Smoke Optional Return Return Air the mixed air damper go
Damper Detector Air Fan closed and the (exhaust)
air damper is opened. This
technique will help exhaust
smoke-laden air from the
building. In addition to the
Typical Floor requirements of NFPA 90A,
Return duct smoke detectors may
Dampers Heating Coil also be used within duct
systems as detection devices
in engineered smoke con-
trol systems. These systems
are engineered for the spe-
cific building. They use the
Conditioned Air Space
Outside Air Cooling Coil Supply Fan building construction and
air handling systems to con-
Figure 7: Typical Single Zone System Filter Duct Smoke
Detector tain and reduce the spread of
Humidifier smoke.

NFPA 90A 1 requires that

L1 when there is an approved
fire alarm system installed
Line Side L2 Load Side in a building, required duct
smoke detectors must be
L3 connected to the fire alarm
Contactor system so that activation of
H N any duct smoke detector will
On cause a supervisory signal to
Off
be indicated at a constantly
Coil attended location, or will
cause an alarm signal.

NC Overload Safety
Controls Typical Fan
C Control Circuit
Contactor Contactor
Auxiliary Figure 8 shows a typical fan
Contact control circuit.
Duct Smoke Control
Detector Contact
(Opens When Smoke
is Detected)
1
NFPA Standard 90A-2002,
Figure 8: Typical Fan Control Shut Down Circuit Section 6.4.4.2
6