Product Spotlight: Actuator Assurance

May 30, 2025

TLX Fire & Security’s actuators meet EN 15004-1 with integrated supervision, ensuring safe installation and discharge in both standard and hazardous fixed gas suppression systems.

One of the most crucial components of a fixed gas fire suppression system is the discharge valve actuator. An improperly installed actuator could prevent the system from discharging, endangering people and property.

The recent revision to EN 15004-1, the standard followed by countries across Europe and beyond, deals with this very scenario. It now requires an audible and visual alarm at the fire control panel if an electric actuator is removed from a cylinder’s discharge valve. These dual alarms are intended to reduce the likelihood that improper actuator installation can go unnoticed.

The danger of a fire suppression system being unable to discharge due to improper actuator installation isn’t a new concern for the industry. In 2016, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) implemented a revision to the NFPA 2001 standard with the same requirements for systems in the United States. The alarms are triggered using a supervisory circuit that can detect whether or not the actuator is properly installed, usually in the form of an add-on component.

TLX Fire & Security responded to the revision to NFPA 2001 by developing a line of patented linear electric actuators with an integrated supervisory feature. This eliminated the need for a secondary component to provide the necessary supervision. If the actuator is removed from the discharge valve, the audible and visual alarms are triggered and will be cancelled only when the actuator is correctly installed. TLX calls this feature “fully engaged installation detection,” and it’s found on all of TLX’s actuators and valves for fire suppression systems.

These UL-864 Recognized Components are designed for systems in non-hazardous environments and come in three sizes to accommodate the operating pressure of any system up to 300 bar.

These solutions soon proved themselves in the market, and TLX began receiving inquiries about an actuator for hazardous locations. Because there may be flammable substances in the atmosphere, the actuator is typically enclosed in a protective enclosure. This prevents a spark, which might be caused by an electrical input to the actuator, from igniting these substances.

TLX’s engineers decided to design an actuator that acted as its own enclosure. The result was the Explosion Proof Actuator with Supervision, which earned UL HazLoc, ATEX, and IECEx certifications.

Uniquely designed as a top-mounted linear electric actuator, it does not act as a pressure vessel on the discharge valve, which helps to reduce the number of potential leak points in the system. All potential flame paths are designed to prevent flame egress, and the enclosure components and flame paths are made from passivated 304 stainless steel, with no brass, bronze, or copper used for any exterior components.

The actuator’s internal components can also be configured during production to accommodate any fire suppression system’s operating pressure up to 300 bar, and it features TLX’s integrated fully engaged installation detection.

All of TLX’s electric actuators for fire suppression satisfy both NFPA and EN standards for supervision, offering system manufacturers proven solutions that are immediately available for EN 15004-1 compliance.

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