SIST EN 50849:2018
(Main)Sound systems for emergency purposes
Sound systems for emergency purposes
This European Standard specifies the performance requirements for sound systems which are
primarily intended to broadcast information for the protection of lives within one or more specified
areas in an emergency. It also gives the characteristics and the methods of test necessary for the
specification of the system.
This European Standard applies to sound reinforcement and distribution systems to be used to effect
a rapid and orderly mobilization of occupants in an indoor or outdoor area in an emergency, including
systems using loudspeakers to broadcast voice announcements for emergency purposes and
attention-drawing or alarm tone signals.
This European Standard does not apply to emergency sound systems used for evacuation in case of
fire emergency, whether connected to a fire detection and fire alarm system or not.
NOTE 1 The use of the system for normal sound reinforcement and distribution systems purposes under nonhazardous
circumstances is not excluded.
It is recommended that the system, when used for emergency purposes, should form part of a
complete facility (equipment, operating procedures and training programmes) for the control of
emergencies.
NOTE 2 Sound systems for emergency purposes may be the subject of approval by relevant authorities.
Elektroakustische Notfallwarnsysteme
Systèmes électroacoustiques pour services de secours
La présente Norme européenne spécifie les exigences de performances qui s'appliquent à des systèmes sonores prévus principalement pour diffuser des informations pour la protection des vies dans une ou plusieurs zones prédéfinies en cas de situation d'urgence. Elle donne également les caractéristiques et les méthodes d'essais nécessaires à la spécification du système.
La présente Norme européenne s'applique aux systèmes de sonorisation et de diffusion destinés à mobiliser de façon rapide et ordonnée les occupants d'une zone intérieure ou extérieure en cas de situation d'urgence, y compris des systèmes utilisant des haut-parleurs pour diffuser des annonces vocales pour des situations d'urgence et des signaux de mise en garde ou des tonalités d'alarme.
La présente Norme européenne ne s'applique pas aux systèmes sonores d'urgence utilisés pour l'évacuation en cas d'urgence incendie, qu'ils soient connectés à un système de détection d'incendie et d'alarme incendie, ou non.
NOTE 1 L'utilisation de ce système aux fins de sonorisation et de diffusion normale en l'absence de danger n'est pas exclue.
Il convient que le système, s'il sert à des situations d'urgence, fasse partie d'une installation complète pour la commande des urgences (matériels, procédures d'utilisation et programmes de formation).
NOTE 2 Les systèmes sonores pour situations d'urgence peuvent être soumis à l'approbation des autorités compétentes.
Elektroakustični sistemi za opozarjanje v nevarnosti
Ta evropski standard določa zahteve glede zmogljivosti za zvočne sisteme, ki so namenjeni predvsem prenosu informacij za zaščito življenj na enem ali več določenih območjih v primeru nevarnosti. Prav tako določa lastnosti in preskusne metode, potrebne za specifikacijo sistema.
Ta evropski standard se uporablja za sisteme zvočne ojačitve in distribucije, ki se uporabljajo za hitro in urejeno mobilizacijo potnikov na notranjem ali zunanjem območju v primeru nevarnosti, vključno s sistemi, ki uporabljajo zvočnike za oddajanje glasovnih sporočil za primere nevarnosti in predvajanje opozorilnih ali alarmnih zvokovnih signalov.
Ta evropski standard se ne uporablja za zvočne sisteme za primere nevarnosti, ki se uporabljajo za evakuacijo v primeru požara in so povezani s sistemom za odkrivanje in javljanje požara ali ne.
OPOMBA 1: Uporaba sistema za običajne namene ojačitve in distribucije zvoka v nenevarnih primerih ni izključena.
Priporočljivo je, da je sistem, če se uporablja v primerih nevarnosti, sestavni del celotnega objekta (opreme, operativnih postopkov in programov usposabljanja) za nadzor izrednih razmer.
OPOMBA 2: Zvočni sistemi za primere nevarnosti so lahko predmet odobritve ustreznih organov.
General Information
Relations
Standards Content (Sample)
SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN 50849:2018
01-februar-2018
1DGRPHãþD
SIST EN 60849:1999
(OHNWURDNXVWLþQLVLVWHPL]DRSR]DUMDQMHYQHYDUQRVWL
Sound systems for emergency purposes
Elektroakustische Notfallwarnsysteme
Systèmes électroacoustiques pour services de secours
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 50849:2017
ICS:
13.320 Alarmni in opozorilni sistemi Alarm and warning systems
33.160.30 Avdio sistemi Audio systems
SIST EN 50849:2018 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
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SIST EN 50849:2018
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SIST EN 50849:2018
EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 50849
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
March 2017
ICS 13.320 Supersedes EN 60849:1998
English Version
Sound systems for emergency purposes
Systèmes électroacoustiques pour situations d'urgence Elektroakustische Notfallwarnsysteme
This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2016-11-07. CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC
Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the
same status as the official versions.
CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2017 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
Ref. No. EN 50849:2017 E
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EN 50849:2017 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 4
Introduction . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references. 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 General system requirements . 8
4.1 Principal features . 8
4.2 Responsible person . 9
4.3 Priorities .9
4.4 Safety requirements . 10
5 System technical requirements .10
5.1 Speech intelligibility .10
5.2 Automatic status indication .11
5.3 Automatic fault monitoring .11
5.4 Monitoring of software controlled equipment .12
5.5 Interface with an emergency detection system .12
5.6 Power supplies .13
5.7 Climatic and environmental conditions .13
5.8 Marking and symbols for marking .14
6 Installation requirements .14
7 System operation .14
7.1 Instructions for operation .14
7.2 Records to be kept.15
7.3 Maintenance .15
7.3.1 General.15
7.3.2 Maintenance instructions .16
Annex A (informative) Measurement of speech intelligibility .17
A.1 Introduction .17
A.2 Methods of measurement .17
A.3 Limitations of the methods .18
A.4 Correlation of the results of the various methods .19
Annex B (normative) Intelligibility measurement methods .20
B.1 General .20
B.2 Status of the sound system .20
B.3 Number of measurements and calculation of the result .20
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B.4 Ambient noise .21
B.5 Test signal .21
B.6 Records .22
Annex C (normative) Attention-drawing audible signals .23
C.1 Introduction .23
C.2 Audibility of attention-drawing signals .23
C.3 Attention-drawing signal level measurement method .23
C.4 Ambient noise level measurement method .23
C.5 Assessment .24
Bibliography . 25
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EN 50849:2017 (E)
European foreword
This document (EN 50849:2017) has been prepared by CLC/BTTF 133-1 “Sound systems for
emergency purposes which are not part of fire detection and alarm systems”.
The following dates are fixed:
• latest date by which this document has to (dop) [2018-03-03]
be implemented at national level by
publication of an identical national standard
or by endorsement
• latest date by which the national standards (dow) [2020-03-03]
conflicting with this document have to
be withdrawn
This document supersedes EN 60849:1998.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CENELEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
EN 50849:2017 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to EN 60849:1998:
— Annex A, Measurement of speech intelligibility, has been brought up to date in line with
EN 60268-16;
— emergency sound systems for use in case of a fire emergency are excluded from the scope of
this standard.
Emergency sound systems for use in case of fire emergency are covered by CEN/TS 54-32 [1],
EN 54-16 and by national, regional or local regulations [2].
Components that have been certified to EN 54-16 [2] and EN 54-24 [3] can be expected to be suitable
for use in a sound system for emergency purposes that complies with this standard.
CEN/TS 54-32 provides guidance for sound systems for emergency purposes which are to be used for
evacuation in case of a fire emergency.
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Introduction
This European Standard introduces a new approach to the assessment of system intelligibility
compared with EN 60849, the standard on which it is based.
Over recent years, the Speech Transmission Index STI has been the most commonly used method for
determining intelligibility of emergency sound systems. Other methods have rarely been applied. For
this reason, it was decided to express the required intelligibility score by using the STI scale. The
intelligibility requirements in 5.1 and Annex A have been changed in line with this.
Furthermore, the RASTI measurement method has been removed from this standard because it does
not give accurate results.
This residual standard based on EN 60849 is intended to remove any requirements that conflict with
the EN 54 series of fire detection and fire alarm standards, including EN 54-16 for voice alarm systems
control and indicating equipment and EN 54-24 for voice alarm systems loudspeakers.
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1 Scope
This European Standard specifies the performance requirements for sound systems which are
primarily intended to broadcast information for the protection of lives within one or more specified
areas in an emergency. It also gives the characteristics and the methods of test necessary for the
specification of the system.
This European Standard applies to sound reinforcement and distribution systems to be used to effect
a rapid and orderly mobilization of occupants in an indoor or outdoor area in an emergency, including
systems using loudspeakers to broadcast voice announcements for emergency purposes and
attention-drawing or alarm tone signals.
This European Standard does not apply to emergency sound systems used for evacuation in case of
fire emergency, whether connected to a fire detection and fire alarm system or not.
NOTE 1 The use of the system for normal sound reinforcement and distribution systems purposes under non-
hazardous circumstances is not excluded.
It is recommended that the system, when used for emergency purposes, should form part of a
complete facility (equipment, operating procedures and training programmes) for the control of
emergencies.
NOTE 2 Sound systems for emergency purposes may be the subject of approval by relevant authorities.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 60065, Audio, video and similar electronic apparatus — Safety requirements (IEC 60065)
EN 60068-1, Environmental testing - Part 1: General and guidance
EN 60079 (all parts), Explosive atmospheres (IEC 60079 series)
EN 60268-16, Sound system equipment - Part 16: Objective rating of speech intelligibility by speech
transmission index
IEC 60364 (all parts), Low-voltage electrical installations
3 Terms and definitions
For the purpose of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
alarm
signal, or condition, warning of an emergency
3.2
area of coverage
area, inside and/or outside a building, where the system meets the requirements laid down in this
standard
Note 1 to entry: Certain parts of an area of coverage may be excluded, see 5.1.
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3.3
audibility
property of sound which allows it to be heard among other sounds
Note 1 to entry: At present for objective analysis, for example when using the STI equation (see EN 60268–16),
the concept of audibility takes account of the relative loudness and frequency content of the sound in comparison
with other sounds present at the same time.
3.4
clarity
property of a sound which allows its information-bearing components to be distinguished by a listener
Note 1 to entry: It is related to the freedom of the sound from distortion of all kinds. There are three kinds of
distortion involved in the reduction of clarity of a speech signal in an electro acoustic system:
a) amplitude distortion, due to nonlinearity in electronic equipment and transducers;
b) frequency distortion, due to non-uniform frequency response of transducers and selective absorption of high
frequencies in acoustic transmission;
c) time domain distortion, due to reflection and reverberation in the acoustic domain.
3.5
critical signal path
physical connection, external to the cabinet of the emergency sound system, for the transmission of
information and/or power between parts of an emergency sound system contained in different cabinets
3.6
danger
risk of harm or damage
3.7
emergency
imminent risk or serious threat to persons or property
3.8
emergency loudspeaker zone
part of the area of coverage to which emergency information can be given separately
3.9
information
speech or intended audio signal
3.10
intelligibility
measure of the proportion of the content of a speech message that can be correctly understood
Note 1 to entry: Satisfactory intelligibility requires adequate audibility and adequate clarity.
3.11
loudspeaker zone
part of the area of coverage to which information can be given separately
3.12
acoustically different area
ADA
subdivision of an emergency loudspeaker zone, that may be an enclosed or otherwise physically
defined space, characterised by an individual reverberation time and/or ambient noise level
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3.13
warning
important notice concerning any change of status which demands attention or activity
3.14
attention–drawing-signal
tone that is broadcasted to attract attention at the start of an emergency message
Note 1 to entry: The level of the attention-drawing-signal is measured using the A-weighted equivalent
continuous sound pressure level method, LA,egT.
4 General system requirements
4.1 Principal features
A sound system for emergency purposes shall permit the broadcasting of intelligible information of
measures to be taken for the protection of lives within one or more specified areas of coverage.
The following criteria shall be fulfilled:
a) When any alarm occurs, the system shall immediately disable or override any functions not
connected with its emergency role (such as paging, music or general pre-recorded
announcements being broadcast to the loudspeaker zones requiring emergency broadcasts),
except where specifically required, and agreed by the interested parties.
b) Unless damaged as a result of the emergency or undergoing repair or maintenance, the system
shall be available for operation at all times (or as required by the system specification). In the
event of unavailability due to repair or maintenance, suitable provisions shall be made for
alternative methods of communication under all prevailing circumstances until the system is
restored to full functionality.
c) The system shall be capable of broadcasting a first attention-drawing signal within 3 s of being
placed in an emergency mode by the operator, or automatically on receipt of a signal from an
emergency detection system. In the latter case, the period of 3 s does not include the reaction
time of the detection system from the time the emergency is first detected, to commanding the
alarm broadcast.
d) The system shall be able to broadcast attention-drawing signals and speech messages to one or
more areas simultaneously. There shall be at least one appropriate attention-drawing signal
alternating with one or more speech messages for this purpose.
e) At any time the system operator shall be able to receive, by means of a monitoring system,
indications of the correct functioning or, otherwise, indications of failures in the critical signal path
(see also 5.2 and 5.3).The monitoring system shall indicate the failure of an amplifier or of a
loudspeaker circuit.
f) Failure of a single amplifier or loudspeaker circuit shall not result in loss of coverage in more than
one loudspeaker zone.
g) An attention-drawing signal shall precede the first message for 4 s to 10 s. Successive signals
and messages shall then continue until either changed in accordance with the evacuation
procedure, or until manually silenced. The interval between successive messages shall not
exceed 30 s and attention-drawing signals shall be broadcast whenever periods of silence might
otherwise exceed 10 s. Where more than one attention-drawing signal is used, such as those
used for different types of emergency, each signal shall be clearly distinguishable in character.
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h) All messages shall be clear, short, unambiguous and as far as practicable, pre-planned. Where
pre-recorded messages are used, they shall be held in a non-volatile solid-state store, and be
continuously monitored for availability. The system design shall make it inherently impossible for
an external source to corrupt or derange the store or its contents.
i) The content of all messages and the language(s) used shall be specified and/or approved by the
purchaser or his representatives or the relevant authorities or both.
j) The system shall be capable of being divided into emergency loudspeaker zones if required by
the evacuation procedure.
k) In determining loudspeaker zones, the following criteria shall apply:
1) the intelligibility of messages broadcast in one zone shall not be reduced below the
requirement of 5.1 by the broadcasting of messages in other zones or from more than one
source;
2) no emergency detection zone shall contain more than one emergency loudspeaker zone. For
non-emergency use, a loudspeaker zone may be subdivided.
l) A secondary power source shall be available (see 5.6).
4.2 Responsible person
The person or body having control of the premises shall nominate a “responsible person”, identified by
name or job title, who shall be responsible for ensuring that the system is properly maintained and
repaired such that it continues to operate as specified.
The responsible person shall be appropriately trained and have the authority and resources to carry
out the task effectively.
4.3 Priorities
4.3.1 Classification of priorities
It is necessary to decide upon an order of priority for the message distribution based upon:
— any automatic programmed response;
— the perceived risk to occupants, which may require manual override of the programmed response.
Events shall be given a level of priority according to their urgency. The following primary levels are
recommended but there may be advantages in adding further subgroups, depending on the
operational strategies of the site:
a) evacuate – potentially life-threatening situation needing immediate evacuation;
b) alert – dangerous situation nearby requiring warning of impending evacuation;
c) non-emergency – operational messages, e.g. system test, etc.
The use of these levels in descending order of priority will ensure that appropriate alarm signals and
messages are provided first to the zones immediately at risk.
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4.3.2 Operational priorities
If the sound system is capable of operation in fully automatic mode, a facility shall be available to
control:
— the type of pre-recorded message being broadcast;
— the distribution of messages to different zones;
— real-time instructions or information to occupants via the emergency microphone (if any is
provided).
Means may be provided for manual intervention to override any automatically programmed functions.
This may apply both to the nature of the message being broadcast and to the distribution paths of the
message. Thus, manual controls may be provided at the central control point (and also at specified
remote control points) to allow:
a) starting or stopping of pre-recorded alarm messages;
b) selection of appropriate pre-recorded alarm messages;
c) switching on or off of selected loudspeaker zones;
d) broadcasting of live messages via the emergency microphone (if any).
NOTE These manual controls may form part of an emergency control panel.
It is essential to provide continuing operator and staff training in the use of all manual controls.
The emergency control microphone shall have the highest level of priority for access to the sound
system, with provision to allow it to override all other broadcasts.
4.4 Safety requirements
The safety requirements applying to emergency sound systems of EN 60065 shall apply.
The mechanical construction of the system shall be such that under the influence of internally
generated heat, explosion or implosion, however caused, no part shall cause injury to any person.
Where any part of the system is installed in areas with hazardous or explosive atmospheres, the
relevant safety requirements of the EN 60079 series shall be met.
5 System technical requirements
5.1 Speech intelligibility
2
The average speech intelligibility in 90 % of each ADA and in any other areas exceeding 10 m within
the ADA, shall be assessed in accordance with the methods described in Annexes A and B, and shall
be not less than 0,50 on the STI-scale, while the minimum STI-value shall not be lower than 0,45.
The speech intelligibility requirements are considered to be a reasonable minimum, although in some
very reverberant spaces and areas with very high noise levels this can be impractical to achieve. In
such cases, an acceptable level of intelligibility should be agreed by the relevant authorities and other
interested parties and then documented.
NOTE See Annexes A and B for the conversion between the STI and various other scales of intelligibility.
The ambient noise level (see Annex B) at the time of measurement (but in the absence of the test
signal) and the test signal level shall be stated with the test result.
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5.2 Automatic status indication
For automatic status indication for emergency sound systems, the following requirements shall apply:
A clear indication shall automatically be given at the designated control locations of:
a) system availability;
b) power supply availability;
c) any fault condition;
d) for systems having more than one loudspeaker zone, which loudspeaker zones are selected and
the mode of operation of the zone, i.e. “evacuate” or “alert” and pre-selection of an emergency
microphone;
e) where different emergency messages are provided, which are dependent on the evacuation
requirements, indication of which messages being broadcast and into which zone may be
displayed by a suitable method. If provided, this information shall be continuously displayed and
kept up to date.
5.3 Automatic fault monitoring
For automatic fault monitoring for emergency sound systems, the following requirements shall apply:
A clear indication shall automatically be given at specified locations, for example at main equipment
locations, of:
a) short-circuit or disconnection or failure of the main power source;
b) short-circuit or disconnection or failure of the standby power source;
c) short-circuit or disconnection or failure of any battery charging equipment associated with the
main or standby power sources;
d) rupture of any fuse or operation of any circuit breaker, isolator or protective device that may
prevent an emergency broadcast;
e) failure of the transmission path from an emergency microphone capsule to the preamplifier, and
the transmission path from the preamplifier to the emergency sound system, if provided;
f) short circuit or interruption in the transmission path(s) to the loudspeaker(s);
g) amplifiers or modules missing which are necessary for the correct functioning of the emergency
sound system in an emergency;
h) failure of any standby amplifier, if applicable;
i) failure of emergency signal generators, including emergency pre-recorded message stores;
j) short-circuit or disconnection of visual alarm devices;
k) failure of a processor to correctly execute its software program;
l) detection of any error during memory checking;
m) cessation of any scanning or interrogation process;
n) failure of the interconnecting data or voice communication links between parts of a distributed
system.
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In addition to individual fault identification at these locations, a common audible warning shall sound
for a minimum of 0,5 s every 5 s. A fault shall cause the audible warning to operate in a latched mode
and a visual indicator to light, either steadily, or in a flashing mode. Manual acceptance and reset
controls shall be included. When accepted, the audible warning shall be silenced and the indicator
shall change to, or remain in, steady illumination. The occurrence of a further fault condition shall
reactivate the audible warning and the visual indicator. When all the faults have been cleared, the
indicator shall be switched off, either automatically or by operating a fault reset control.
The fault indication shall be given within 100 s of the occurrence of the fault, regardless of whether the
sound system is being used for non-emergency purposes, such as the transmission of background
music.
5.4 Monitoring of software controlled equipment
For software-controlled equipment for emergency sound systems, the following requirements shall
apply:
The correct execution of the system software by any microprocessor shall be monitored by internal
self-checking procedures and by an appropriate monitoring circuit (e.g. “watch dog” circuit) that
conforms to the following requirements:
a) the monitoring circuit and its associated indication and signalling circuits shall not be prevented
from determining and signalling a fault condition by the failure of any microprocessor or
associated clock circuits;
b) the monitoring circuit shall monitor the execution of routines associated with the main program
elements (i.e. it shall not be solely associated with “waiting” or other “housekeeping” routines);
c) in the event of a failure by a microprocessor to execute its software correctly, the monitoring
circuit shall (in addition to initiating an audible and visual fault warning) perform as follows:
1) re-initialise the processor and attempt to restart the program at a suitable point within 10 s of
the occurrence of the failure. The re-initialisation procedure shall verify that the contents of
memory, both program and data, are not corrupted, and
2) either:
i) record that a failure has occurred (using a system capable of recording a minimum of
99 failures and re-settable only by an operation restricted to authorized servicing
personnel); or
ii) automatically reset the equipment and give an audible and visual warning that an
automatic reset has occurred. Once acknowledged, this occurrence should be logged in
accordance with 7.2 b).
5.5 Interf
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