EN50131
European Standards For Intruder Alarm Systems
The date for withdrawal of British Standards that conflict
with the new European Standards is the 1st October 2005.
The current British Standards 4737, 7042 and BS 6799
Wireless Systems will be replaced by the new European
Standards BSEN 50131 series on this date.
European Standards are not retrospective, therefore
systems which are currently installed to British Standards
will continue to be maintained and updated to that standard.
The European standards have been under development
for some time, and not all of the standards are complete,
but work on these standards continues. However, there
are a suite of European Standards available to enable
companies to install to. To enable this, the European
Standards will include a document PD 6662:2004.
This is a Published Document (PD) and is used to call
up parts of the current British Standards where European
Standards are still under development. As new parts
of the European standards are completed they will eventually
replace those parts of the PD6662, which will eventually
be phased out.
Risk assessment
One of the most significant issues within the new EN
standards will be evaluating the risk associated with
the premises and determining a grade of system. This
is because once the grade of a system is determined
it will define the extent of the system, its signaling
and tamper security requirements.
SECURITY GRADES
One of the most important aspects of the EN 50131 requirements
is the concept of a security grade. For each installation
the grade of system has to be chosen according to various
factors. In the EN the grade is described in terms of
the type of intruder and how much effort they would
put into a burglary.
What are the Grades?
Grade 1
is for an installation with a low risk of theft. The
property is not likely to attract intruders. It is assumed
that a thief is likely to be opportunistic rather than
bothering to plan things in advance. In the application
guide (DD CLC/TS 50131-7) it assumes that an intruder
is simply going to break open a door.
Grade 2
is for a slightly higher risk of theft. The property
is likely to have something of interest to an experienced
thief. In this case the intruder is expected to have
some knowledge of how alarm systems work and possibly
carry some tools to allow him to overcome a simple alarm
system. The thief is likely to check the building for
ease of access through doors, windows and other openings.
Grade 3
is for a reasonably substantial risk property. There
is good reason to assume it may be broken into and might
well contain objects of high value. An intruder is likely
to gain access by penetrating doors, windows or other
openings. The thief could be very experienced with intruder
alarm systems and possess a number of tools and equipment
to overcome the system
Grade 4
is for very high-risk properties. Intruders could be
expected to plan a burglary in advance and have the
knowledge and equipment to alter parts of the intruder
alarm system to prevent detection. It is assumed that
the intruder could gain access by penetration of floors,
walls and ceilings. The intruder is unlikely to be working
alone.
What Grade of System
does my installation need?
This is difficult to say at the moment and opinion
on this matter varies from country to country. The view
in the UK tends to require grades that are higher than
other countries (e.g. a shop in Belgium at grade 2 could
be grade 3 in the UK). To a large degree the choice
of grade would be guided by insurance companies. A typical
view though could be:
- Grade 1 would only be of interest in domestic properties
(without an insurance requirement for an alarm system).
- Grade 2 would be most domestic properties and low
risk commercial (e.g. florists)
- Grade 3 would be for high-risk domestics and most
commercial properties (e.g. Newsagent with cigarette
sales)
- Grade 4 would be for extremely high-risk domestic
and higher risk commercial properties (e.g. bullion
stores).
Mixing Components of
Different Grade
The EN standard says that it is not necessary to use
the same grade of component throughout an intruder system.
If the installation is a grade 2 then there is no problem
using, for example, a grade 3 power supply.
If however an installer fits a grade 2 component (such
as a detector) in a system then that system is limited
to grade 2 at best.
It is possible to have a defined part of a system at
a higher grade so long as all associated parts are at
the same (or higher) grade. For example a system combining
intruder and hold-up (PA) functionality could have a
grade 4 hold-up system whilst the intruder parts were
limited to grade 3. But this example is only valid if
the power supply, alarm transmission system and warning
devices used by the hold-up (PA) parts are all grade
4. This would still allow intruder parts such as PIR's
to be grade 3. The system as a whole is, of course,
only grade 3.
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