A Guide to Intruder Alarms
In January 2015, BT Redcare* became one of the latest companies to receive Loss Prevention Council Board approval to LPS 1277.
The LPS 1277 approval scheme brings together the various alarm transmission system (ATS) requirements relevant to the UK fire and intruder alarm market. It addresses the requirements of the insurance industry and other stakeholders on key issues such as ensuring faults are promptly reported and providing guidelines for installers. It also deals with any omissions and ambiguities contained in the existing European and national standards which, in the past, has often made it difficult for insurers to accept some of the more recent alarm entrants such as IP signalling (IP signalling is a term generally recognised as applying to the use of the internet protocol (IP) for transmitting signals over telecommunications landlines).
Originally released in 2005, LPS 1277 is an independent and impartial series of tests which are administered by the LPCB (Loss Prevention Council Board). It provides the insurance industry with reassurance that an alarm signalling system meets its key requirements. The current version of LPS 1277 is Issue 3.0 and the requirements are based on the current series of European Standards. However, LPS 1277 does not in any way undermine the European regulations. Instead it builds on and clarifies these Standards, typically in areas relating to intrusion and hold up alarm systems.
The performance of alarm transmission systems is rated in terms of ‘ATS’ values, ranging from 1 to 6 with ATS 6 being the high level of performance. By evaluating ATS products in a comprehensive, impartial and objective manner, irrespective of the technology used, it puts Alarm Transmission Systems onto a level playing field. This allows Sterling to select an ATS by generic performance requirements rather than by particular provider or product that has long been common practice.
A list of all approved companies and their LPS 1277 compliant products can be found at www.redbooklive.com .
*The BT Redcare products that have gained certification are:
- Redcare GSM Roaming
- Redcare Classic
- Redcare Classic for Fire
- Redcare Secure IP
- Redcare Secure 3
- Redcare Secure Solo
Source: Sterling Insurance – The Mane News July 2015