Wireless fire technology from Hyfire is protecting The House of the Binns, a historic house in West Lothian that is under care of the National Trust for Scotland.
The House of the Binns, or simply The Binns, has been the seat of the Dalyell family since it was first built. Despite being donated to the National Trust for Scotland in 1944, the family retains the right to live in the property which was the home of the well-known former Labour MP Sir Tam Dalyell until his death in 2017. The 17th century house had additions made in the 18th and 19th centuries, and presented a significant challenge to fire system installers who opted for a wireless system to replace aged wired infrastructure.
“When we were approached by the National Trust for Scotland to specify a new fire system for The Binns, the challenges were immediately apparent, and we rapidly concluded that a wireless solution was the simplest and most effective way forward,” says Stevie Huxley of Safe Simple Secure, the installers on the project. “The building has significant ornate ceilings and historical interior features, so a wired system would require multiple trades and a principal contractor to manage the installation and ‘make good’ afterwards.
“We have worked with Hyfire for many years, during which time the performance and reliability of wireless fire devices has improved radically, and the new Taurus range is the equal, if not the superior, of its wired competitor in every aspect. For buildings like this, which require a light touch while still ensuring the protection of the historic fabric, wireless ticks all the boxes.”
Robert Bruce, National Sales Manager-North at Hyfire, says: “At one time, wireless devices were seen as a niche technology best suited to historic buildings and big box industrial sheds. While this is no longer the case, the advantages that it can bring to an ancient building like The Binns cannot be overstated. Not only were we able to deliver a fully-featured fire system that met all of the key requirements specified by the National Trust for Scotland, the system was also installed in a fraction of the time that a wired system would have taken, with none of the costs associated with installing cable loop.”
Developed in Trieste, Italy, the global centre for wireless fire design, Hyfire’s Taurus solution features Pathfinder Technology, which allows the devices to communicate over 1km, point to point in open air, and further where expansion hops are used. Antenna technology has been optimised to allow communication across different frequencies and environments, which means that Taurus can do the job with less equipment and less batteries, thus saving on costs.
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