BS5839 Part 6 has been updated – do you know the changes?

You may have recently seen that BS5839-6, the domestic side, has been updated to BS5839-6:2019. But, do you know the changes that have come in with this revision? Many of you will be using this as your installation guide, to ensure that you fit to the government recommendations. So it is important to know about these changes.

Although we cannot share the full guide with you, here are some of the key points:

Changes to the Grades

The first thing you may notice is that the Grades have changed. Grades B and E have both now been removed, and D and F have been further split down. Where as previously Grade D was just a mains powered alarm with a battery back-up, we now have D1 – a mains powered alarm with an integral tamper proof battery back-up and D2 – a mains powered alarm with a replaceable battery backup. Whereas F was previously a battery only alarm, we now have F1 – an alarm with a tamper proof battery power supply and F2 an alarm with a user-replaceable battery power source.

Changes to Table 1

Across the table, there have been notable changes to the grade and category of protection recommended. Changes include;

Owner occupied (new/materially altered) – Grade D2, LD2^D

Rented (existing and new/materially altered) – Grade D1, LD2^D

Sheltered housing (existing) – Individual dwelling: Grade D2, LD2^Q. Communal areas: Grade A, L4/L5

Sheltered housing (new/materially altered) – Individual dwelling Grade D2, LD1^J. Communal areas Grade A, L4/L5

HMOs (new/materially altered) – Grade 1, LD1

For more detailed information on these changes and to see the notes attached to the categories, view our full Part 6 Updates Guidance Page.

Testing and Maintenance

Although the British Standards have always provided recommendations of weekly testing, testing and maintenance now has its own table, Table 3. For domestic alarms, testing recommendation has now changed to monthly.

Additional Updates

In the additional updates, it now states that mains powered Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms may be interconnected with the fire detection system.

Not sure about interconnecting?

Aico makes interconnection between Fire and CO Alarms easy! To be able to  easily distinguish between a Fire or CO warning, fit an Ei450 Control Switch which will display a Fire or CO symbol as well as enabling you to silence the other alarms in the system to pinpoint the triggered alarm. Also, if you are fitting all 3000 Series Alarms and connect the Fire and CO system up via SmartLINK, all alarms in the system will mimic either the Fire or CO Alarm noise, depending on what triggered them.

For more detail on any of the changes, please visit our BS5839-6:2019 Updates Guidance Page, or get in touch with your Regional Specification Manager.