Plant and building alarms
Alarm panels in plant rooms and boiler houses that sound where nobody is.
Alarm relay monitoring tag
The ZARC alarm relay tag takes an alarm that only sounds on site and sends it to the people who need to know, wherever they are. It connects to the alarm output of an existing panel, reports the moment the alarm starts and again when it resets, and runs on its own battery. The panel stays exactly as it is.
01
What it reports
Many alarms are heard only by whoever is standing near them: a plant alarm in an empty building, a refrigeration alarm in a closed kitchen, a sounder on an unmanned site. The tag reports the alarm the moment the panel raises it.
It reports two events, alarm and reset, and times both. The dashboard shows how long each alarm lasted and how often a panel alarms.
It suits sites moving off old auto-diallers and GSM communicators, which stop working as analogue phone lines and older mobile networks are withdrawn. The alarm output moves onto the dashboard with no new panel.
It is complementary monitoring. It does not replace a certified connection to an alarm receiving centre where insurance or a standard requires one.
02
Applications
Wherever an alarm sounds where nobody can hear it, the tag has a job. These are the alarms we are asked about most, and the list is not exhaustive.
Refrigeration alarms
Cold room and freezer alarms that ring in an empty kitchen overnight.
Old auto-diallers and GSM communicators
Alarm outputs moved off equipment whose phone line or network is being withdrawn, with no new panel.
Unmanned sites
Kiosks, pumping stations and compounds where a sounder reaches nobody.
Tank and bund alarms
High-level and leak alarms on fuel and chemical storage.
Medical gas and plant alarms
Area and plant alarm outputs relayed to estates teams, as complementary monitoring.
Fire and suppression panels
Alarm outputs relayed off site as complementary visibility. This never replaces certified fire signalling.
Multi-site estates
Every panel's alarm state on one dashboard.
03
Where it can go
The tag connects to the alarm output of the panel it watches and mounts wherever suits the installation. Typical positions:
Beside the alarm panel
Connected to the panel's alarm output, fitted to suit the panel at survey.
In place of an old dialler
Using the output the dialler was connected to.
In plant rooms and kitchens
Next to the equipment's local alarm.
In cabinets and kiosks
On unmanned sites, in an enclosure specified for the location.
On a DIN rail or wall
Whichever suits the panel.
Across an estate
Every panel on every site on one dashboard.
04
In the dashboard
Every panel shows its live state, alarm or normal, named for what it protects. Each alarm is logged with when it started, when it reset and how long it lasted, and a panel that alarms often shows as a pattern worth investigating. History exports for insurers and audits, and is held on a UK-hosted dashboard or on servers on your own site.
Alerts are pushed on alarm and on reset. They go by email or SMS, and through an app where required, to the people named for that panel, with escalation to further contacts and separate routes in and out of hours.
- Live state of every panel, named for what it protects
- Alarm start, reset and duration
- Panels that alarm most often
- Alerts on alarm and on reset
- Alert routes per panel, in hours and out of hours
- Site-by-site comparison across an estate
- Full event history, exportable
- A tag that misses its check-in is flagged
05
Industries
Wherever an alarm sounds where nobody hears it, including:
Buildings and estates
Plant and building alarms across a portfolio.
Facilities management and property operators
Every client site's alarms on one view.
Healthcare
Plant and medical gas alarm outputs relayed to estates teams.
Critical national infrastructure
Alarms on unmanned sites that have to reach someone at once.
Energy and utilities
Pumping station, kiosk and plant alarms.
Hospitality and food service
Refrigeration and kitchen alarms in premises closed overnight.
06
Technical specification
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Connection | The existing panel's alarm output, fitted to suit the panel at survey |
| Reporting | Alarm and reset, sent as they happen |
| Timing | Alarm start, reset and duration |
| Naming | Each panel named for what it protects |
| Alert routes | Set per panel, in hours and out of hours |
| Alert delivery | Dashboard, email or SMS; app where required |
| Recipients | Named people and groups, with escalation to further contacts |
| Check-in interval | Configurable; a silent tag is flagged |
| Gateway power loss | Raises its own platform alert |
| Data | Full event history, exportable; UK-hosted or on servers on your own site |
| Power | Internal battery, up to five years depending on use and check-in interval |
| Radio | 433 MHz, one-way (transmit only) |
| Range | Site-dependent; confirmed by site survey |
| Mounting | DIN rail, wall or beside the panel |
| Environment | Indoor or outdoor, enclosure specified to the location |
| Status | Complementary monitoring; not a certified alarm receiving centre connection |
| Charges | No per-alert, per-user or licence charges |
| Manufacture | Made to order in the UK |
| Certification | CE marked |
07
From requirement to live alerts
Requirement
You tell us which alarms matter and who should respond, in hours and out of hours.
Configuration
We name each panel for what it protects and set its alert route and escalation.
Fitting
The tag connects to each panel's alarm output, working alongside the panel's own maintainer where required.
Commissioning
We trigger each alarm and confirm every alert reaches every recipient before handover.
Ready to get started? Every deployment begins with a site survey.
Book a site survey08
How it reports
When the panel alarms, the tag sends the event over 433 MHz radio to a ZARC gateway, which passes it to the dashboard and raises the alert on the panel's own route. The tag only transmits and never sends anything back to the panel, so the alarm system works exactly as it did before.
Related tags
Dry contact
Plant fault and run outputs, where this tag takes alarms off site.
Power failure
The alarm panel's own supply.
Panic button
A person raising the alarm themselves.
Tank level
The level behind a tank alarm.
Questions we answer most.
What does it do?
It takes an alarm that sounds only on site and alerts named people off site, the moment the alarm starts and again when it resets.
Does the alarm panel need changing?
No. The tag connects to the panel's existing alarm output and the panel works as before.
Can it replace our old auto-dialler?
It takes over the alarm output the dialler used, so the alarm reaches people without a phone line.
Is it an alarm receiving centre connection?
No. It is complementary monitoring and does not replace a certified alarm receiving centre connection where insurance or a standard requires one.
Will I know when the alarm resets?
Yes. A reset alert is sent, and the dashboard records how long the alarm lasted.
Can each panel alert different people?
Yes. Each panel has its own alert route and escalation.
How fast are alerts?
Alarms are sent as they happen and typically reach the dashboard within a second.
Does it need mains power or wiring?
No. It runs on an internal battery for up to five years, depending on use and the check-in interval.
Can one dashboard cover many sites?
Yes. Every panel on every site reports to the same dashboard.
Do alerts or extra users cost more?
No. There are no per-alert, per-user or licence charges.
Looking for something else?
We work with any sensor for any application.
Most sensing needs are met by a tag we already build, configured for your equipment. If yours needs a sensor or interface we don't list, we have the engineering to build it. Tell us what you need to measure, and we will tell you how we would do it.
Discuss your requirementDiscuss a monitoring
or alerting solution
Tell us what is happening on site, what you need to see, and the event you need to hear about. We will come back with the system that answers it.
Direct contact
Location
Venator House, Unit 9, 15-17 St Stephen's Road, Bournemouth
Dorset, BH2 6LA · VAT GB 409644484
Products contact
Contact the engineering team
Direct to the team that designs and builds the range. Tell us the equipment and the event that matters.