Standby generators
Run, fail-to-start and common fault outputs. A generator fails only when it is called on, so knowing its state before then is the point.
Dry contact monitoring tag
The ZARC dry contact tag reads the volt-free contacts that equipment already provides, such as fault, run, trip and alarm outputs, and reports every change of state in real time. Most plant signals a problem on a relay that nobody has wired anywhere. The tag connects to it with two small cables, runs on its own battery, and takes no power or network from the equipment it watches.
01
What it reports
Generators, pumps, UPS units, chillers, boilers, lifts and alarm panels almost all carry a volt-free contact that changes state when something goes wrong. On most sites that contact lights a lamp on the panel and nothing more. The tag reads it and turns it into an alert that reaches the right person.
It reports each change of state, open or closed, as it happens. Each input is named for what it means, such as "pump tripped", "generator running" or "UPS on battery", so the alert says what happened, not which terminal moved.
Two inputs run from one tag, each set as normally open or normally closed. Wired normally closed, a cut cable reads as an alarm rather than as silence.
02
Applications
If a piece of equipment has a fault, run or alarm output, the tag can bring it onto the dashboard. These are the outputs we are asked about most, and the list is not exhaustive.
UPS units
Mains-fail, on-battery, battery-low and bypass outputs. The team knows the moment the UPS takes the load.
Pumps and sumps
Trip outputs and high-level float switches on sewage, drainage and booster pumps.
Pressure switches
The trip contact on a pressure switch, reported the moment it operates.
Chillers, boilers and air handling
Common fault outputs that otherwise show only on the unit's own display.
Lifts
Fault and out-of-service relays, so a stuck lift is known before a resident reports it.
BMS and plant alarms
Alarm outputs from a building management system that raises alarms only on its own screen.
Fire and suppression panels
Fault and discharge outputs, relayed off site as complementary monitoring. This never replaces certified signalling.
Gas interlocks and shut-off panels
The state of a kitchen or laboratory gas interlock, so a shut-off is known straight away.
Equipment on unmanned sites
Kiosks, pumping stations and cabinets where the only person who would see the fault lamp is the next engineer to visit.
03
Where it can go
The tag connects to the equipment's spare volt-free terminals with two small cables and mounts wherever suits the installation. Typical positions:
Inside the equipment panel
On the spare terminals of a generator, UPS or pump controller.
In a control panel
Beside the relay outputs of a motor control centre or plant panel.
On a DIN rail
Alongside the circuits in a distribution board or panel.
In plant rooms and pump houses
Often below ground and out of reach of other networks.
Outdoors
Kiosks, compounds and pumping stations, in an enclosure specified for the location.
Across an estate
Every fault output on every site on one dashboard.
04
In the dashboard
Every input shows its live state, named for what it means, grouped by site and equipment. Each change is logged with its time and how long it lasted, so a pump that trips and resets every night shows as a pattern rather than going unseen. A run output also gives running hours and the number of starts. History exports for maintenance records, audits and insurers, and is held on a UK-hosted dashboard or on servers on your own site.
Alerts are pushed as the state changes: on the fault, on the clear, or only when a state has lasted longer than you allow. Schedules set when a state is expected. Alerts go by email or SMS, and through an app where required, to the people you name, with escalation to further contacts.
- Live state of every input, named for what it means
- Every change logged with its time and duration
- Faults that clear themselves shown as a pattern
- Running hours and number of starts from a run output
- Alerts on change, on clear, or on a state held too long
- Schedules for when a state is expected
- Site-by-site comparison across an estate
- Full event history, exportable
- A tag that misses its check-in is flagged
05
Industries
Every sector that runs plant with a fault output nobody watches, including:
Critical national infrastructure
Plant on unmanned sites, where a fault has to reach someone at once.
Energy and utilities
Pumping stations, kiosks and standby plant.
Data centres and critical infrastructure
Generator and UPS states ahead of an outage.
Healthcare
Standby power, medical gas plant and building services.
Facilities management and property operators
Plant faults across a managed portfolio.
Industrial and manufacturing
Trips and faults on production and site plant.
06
Technical specification
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Inputs | Volt-free (dry) contacts, two per tag |
| Contact type | Normally open or normally closed, set per input |
| Reporting | Every change of state, sent as it happens |
| Input naming | Each input named for what it means |
| Persistence alerts | A state held longer than a set time |
| Schedules | Hours when a state is expected, set per input |
| Run statistics | Running hours and number of starts from a run output |
| Connection | Two small cables to the equipment's spare contacts |
| Power from the equipment | None |
| 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 |
| Dashboard | Live states, event history, run statistics; configured to your requirement |
| 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 inside an existing panel |
| Environment | Indoor or outdoor, enclosure specified to the location |
| 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 outputs matter, what each one means and who needs to know.
Configuration
We name the inputs, set normally open or normally closed, and set persistence times, schedules and alert routes.
Fitting
Two small cables go to the equipment's spare volt-free terminals. Where site rules require an electrician or the equipment's own maintainer, we work alongside them.
Commissioning
We operate or simulate each output 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
Each change of state goes over 433 MHz radio to a ZARC gateway, which passes it to the dashboard, where it is named, timed and checked against your schedules. The tag only reads the contact and only transmits, so nothing is ever sent back to the equipment or to the tag.
Related tags
Alarm relay
An existing local alarm relayed off site.
Power failure
The supply to the equipment, not just its fault output.
AC current
Whether equipment is running, read from the current it draws.
Pressure
The pressure a pump or compressor is making.
Questions we answer most.
What is a dry contact?
A volt-free switch contact on a piece of equipment that opens or closes to signal a state, such as a fault, a trip or running. It carries no voltage of its own.
What equipment has one?
Most generators, UPS units, pump controllers, chillers, boilers, lift controllers, alarm panels and building management systems.
Does it take power from the equipment?
No. The tag runs on its own battery and only reads whether the contact is open or closed.
Can it change how the equipment works?
No. It reads the contact and transmits. Nothing is ever sent back to the equipment.
Normally open or normally closed?
Either, set per input. Wired normally closed, a cut cable reads as an alarm.
Can it ignore a fault that clears itself straight away?
Yes. A persistence time holds the alert until the state has lasted longer than you allow, and every brief event is still logged.
How many contacts per tag?
Two.
How fast are alerts?
Changes of state are sent as they happen and typically reach the dashboard within a second.
Who fits it?
It connects with two small cables. Where site rules require an electrician or the equipment's maintainer, we work alongside them.
Can one dashboard cover many sites?
Yes. Every input on every site reports to the same dashboard, grouped the way you run the estate.
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.