This may sound like a stupid question (I’m guessing there’s a basic answer for it) but, Why do some places install separate horn and separate strobes, when they could’ve just installed a horn/strobe? I remember being in a school building that had Wheelock MTs, but also had Wheelock LSMs installed right above them. I always wondered why they didn’t just install the MT Horn/strobe instead of installing two separate devices.
I’ve wondered this too. I’ve been in a Safeway store with wall mount TrueAlert horns mounted next to wall mount TrueAlert strobes, both mounted on the ceiling throughout the store.
Maybe the strobes for the school bell so deaf children can know the bell rings and the horn is for the fire alarm. Can you remember if the strobe said fire on it?
A lot of department stores are like that, Target for example. I’ve seen many with Wheelock horns on the walls and RSS strobes on the ceiling. I’m no expert when it comes to fire alarm codes, but if I had to guess, maybe strobes on the ceiling are more effective at getting attention and maybe audible devices on walls are more effective in that position? I’m really not 100% sure but I would like to know.
A lot of older systems were set up with seperate horns and lights/strobes. I know of a large Federal office building not far from here that had old Federal vibratone horns with Space Age V33 lights next to them.
In a large open space like a department store, strobes on the ceiling will have more efficient coverage than multiple horn/strobes on a support beam. In certain situations such as a high-ceiling mezzanine, it may also mean that you can use a few high-wattage ceiling speakers instead of several wall-mount speaker/strobes.
This setup was more common with older systems, particularly Honeywell. I’ve seen multiple Honeywell systems now that had V33’s or WST-24’s installed next to an audible appliance. Not sure why, but most unusual setups that you see were the result of both cost and code compliance. Perhaps it was cheaper at that time to order visual appliances separate instead of combined audiovisual appliances. Whatever brings the lowest bid to meet the requirements usually wins.
Strangely enough, I’ve seen a few recent buildings that use separate audible and visual devices for signaling. Two conference centers in my city, both of which opened in 2011, have separate speakers and strobes: one of these buildings has a 4100U with ceiling-mount TrueAlert speakers and a mix of wall-mount and ceiling-mount TrueAlert strobes, while the other has an EST3 with Integrity speakers, each of which is paired with either a http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy322/Chupacabra_1/Fire%20Alarms/IMG_3670_zps85152461.jpg wall-mount or http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy322/Chupacabra_1/Fire%20Alarms/IMG_3686_zpse48e6aac.jpg ceiling-mount Genesis strobe.
The strangest setup I’ve seen, however, is the one pictured below. I don’t understand why they chose this option when TrueAlert horn/strobes probably would’ve been perfectly fine for the application; it just seems more complicated to install separate horns and strobes. This is at an ONroute rest stop along Highway 401 in Trenton, ON (also built in 2011). There are no large open spaces or very high ceilings at this place, and the building is quite small.
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Owner “We have alot of money why not just waste it and use it for separate devices?” That maybe? XD
Haha, it usually goes “We have absolutely no money to be spent on saving lives, so why not do the bare minimum and take the cheapest route to get there”.
LAWL
There are 2 reasons:
1 - The strobes are on a separate circuit because they have a synchronizer to control them so they all flash at the same time or after a while a fire scene turns into a disco.
2 - The strobes can continue to flash even if the alarm bells have been silenced to indicate the “alarm” state may not have been resolved yet and people shouldn’t reenter a building.
Toronto, Ontario guy
Horn/strobes can do that without separate devices, using 4 wires or a sync module.
I’m assuming that the building had already two holes for the alarms in the first place. Plus, installers may do this because its probably the only alarms they could have used during the time. This seems retarted but if you think about it in no way, shape, or form this can hurt anyone. Also, it’s probably cheaper to replace a separate horn or strobe then a horn strobe combined.
I could understand how it could be cheaper to replace a separate horn or strobe then a horn strobe. Or the company who installed just pitched the idea really well. 
My school did this in our outdoor covered hallways for some reason, just so the strobes were more visible, since there is a wall of lockers going down the middle of the hallway. Still, they should have just mounted horn strobes on the ceiling and been done with it.
To “The Big Green”. Can you reference the manufacturer that has a sync module, with the model number, that you mention because that warrants further investigation for possible future use.
It would seem that an addressable fire panel could control the various outputs circuits and that making an output circuit “Nonsilenceable” would be a programming feature, not requiring a sync module. If there is a way to avoid the higher cost of an addressable fire panel then the sync module is the way to go.
Strobes would be more prevalent in industrial manufacturing areas with a high db rating or in loud night clubs if you are not interconnected to shut down the music with a disconnection method of the preamp to the main amp.
Toronto, Ontario guy
To do that, a sync module would still need to be wired to one circuit set to silenceable and another set to non-silenceable. However, most modern conventional panels have the ability to control output circuits like this.
Yeah, it did have fire on it. I don’t think it was for the bell system, this was in a newer school, that probably had a PA Bell system.
I’ve been there before; I’ve always wondered why they decided to do that too. I also have seen it in the other ONroutes along highway 401, except It was 2 EST Genesis horn/strobes installed beside each other. I found it wierd, cause I thought maybe it was a 2 stage system, but the pull stations were only single action.
In a large open space like Target, more strobes are needed than horns which is why they have white RSS strobes on the ceiling and red NH horns on the support beams. In smaller areas of the store, such as near the restrooms, where both horn and strobe coverage is needed, they have wall-mount horn/strobes which are red Wheelock NS’s.
The use of separate strobes and horns (or speakers) is not common practice. However, most fire alarm systems are installed in the bid market (new construction or remodel). In these cases an electrical engineer or fire protection engineer designs the system and specifies what equipment will be used. If a particular engineer prefers separate units, then that is what the building will have. As long as his design complies with the Life Safety Code, NFPA Code, and the local AHJ it is acceptable.
The installing contractor and fire alarm equipment supplier can make suggestions and recommendations but the design engineer has the final decision on what equipment goes into the building.
In remodel jobs there may be old separate horns and strobes and they are replaced on a one to one basis to avoid having to rework the electrical in the walls and do patching work.
The Cabela’s in Owatonna has Simplex 4901-9805s (verified using one of their spotting scopes they had on display) with remote 4904 strobes next to them. Panel is a 4000 series with a 4602-8001 Annunciator Package.
An arena in LaCrosse Wi (can’t remember the name, had mentioned it before in a topic like this) has EST Integrity speaker/strobes and remote strobes next to them.