Replacement of electro mechanical sirens
The economical solution: We are replacing mechanical sirens with modern technology
Mechanical sirens, respectively motor-driven sirens have been reliably fulfilled their purpose for many years in the areas of civil defense and to alert fire brigades. However, this type of siren is technologically outdated and prone to faults. The most serious disadvantage compared to modern electronic sirens is that an electromechanical siren (motor-driven siren) cannot be used to sound an alert in the event of a power failure as it can only be operated directly with three-phase current. Replacement increases the reliability and is the most economical solution in terms of running costs.
We at HÖRMANN Warnsysteme are pioneers in the development and manufacturing of sirens in both technical fields. Therefore we have configured a complete system with an electronic siren as an alternative to and replacement for the electromechanical siren; it is specially tailored to alerting fire services. With this system, we are offering a cost-effective, future-proof, “out-of-the-box” solution in line with the current state of the art. For mechanical or motor-driven sirens that are used for public warning or in industry, our experts can develop individual solutions based on modern, electronic sirens.
Your advantages:
- Cost-effective replacement of mechanical sirens
- Reliable alarm system
- Complete system for fire services
- Experience from numerous projects
Maintenance
We continue to support you after installation to ensure that your system continues to run smoothly
Even after handing over the new warning system, we continue to support our customers from civil protection, plant security or fire services. Our extensive service network in Germany is unique in the industry. This guarantees short response times nationwide in the event of a malfunction. Internationally, our well trained sales partners take over maintenance responsibilities.
Siren warning systems protect lives. To ensure that the siren warning system continues to work perfectly, we recommend an annual service. Our 60,000 sirens in Germany alone are serviced annually by our service technicians. Our service contracts give you security with fair conditions. Get in touch!
Your advantages:
- Comprehensive, extensive service network in Germany
- Short response times
- Competent global service partners
- Fair service contracts
Training
We teach you all you need to know about your siren warning system
Only someone who properly understands the functions of the new warning system can use it to its full potential. This is why we offer specially tailored on-site training that will teach you all there is to know about your new siren warning system. All training is customised to the particular system installed and to the target group. The required knowledge is imparted on site with practice directly on the system, starting from training for standard users all the way through to maintenance personnel.
Your advantages:
- Individual training for every target group
- Training on the system on site
- Knowledge transfer for independent first level support
Installation/Commissioning
Our systems are turnkey and ready to use right away
We provide turnkey siren warning systems from a single source. Our extensively trained specialists carry out all the work required for this in accordance with regulations and guidelines, including:
- Earthwork for erecting masts or laying cables
- Roof work including the installation of grates
- Installation of lightning protection systems
- Installation and wiring of sirens and siren cabinets
- Installation and configuration of remote control receivers
- Installation and configuration of the control centre technology
- Creation of assembly instructions and documentation
- Handover test and commissioning
Where we are not on site ourselves, our carefully selected and well-trained partners perform the installation and commissioning of our outdoor warning sirens - always in close cooperation with our experts.
Your advantages:
- Complete project support from a single source
- A personal contact, even for large-scale projects
- Turnkey handover
- A system that is ready to use right away
Customised System Development
We develop the right siren warning system for you
Almost every siren warning system takes on a different form. It is very rare for a standard solution to cover all requirements. This is why we combine standard modules with individually manufactured components to create a tailored complete solution to meet your needs. The use of industry standards, such as 19" modular technology in siren cabinets, offers flexibility and ensures investment protection since installed components can be easily replaced or new functions can be added.
As a manufacturer, we know our products inside out. Your requirements may include:
- Integrating our sirens into an existing control centre
- The use of analogue or digital siren remote control units
- Customer-specific alarm signals or voice announcements
- Communication via analogue radio, TETRA, GPRS, Ethernet or fibre optics
No matter what, our experts will develop the perfect warning system for you and ensure flawless integration into existing infrastructures. And of course, we always take country-specific standards into account.
Both production and development of the sirens and system components take place in Germany. The involvement of the production team in the system development process guarantees targeted implementation of your requirements from the very first step. HÖRMANN Warnsysteme GmbH is certified in accordance with DIN ISO 9001:2000 and guarantees the highest possible quality standard for products and systems.
Your advantages:
- Wide range of standard components
- Modular design
- Flexibility thanks to use of industry standards
- Product development and manufacture in Germany
- Short development times
- Long-standing customer relationships
- Everything from a single source from planning to maintenance
Planning/Design
Our experts develop the optimum system concept for your siren network
Siren warning systems are rarely an off-the-peg solution. The specific requirements of each scenario are too unique for that. At HÖRMANN Warnsysteme GmbH, we have been developing and installing sirens to alert civilians, for warning systems in industrial facilities and for alerting fire services around the world for over 60 years. This makes us a trustworthy partner in the design your new warning system.
Our individual system planning comprises five steps:
- Analysis of the local conditions and coverage requirements, taking into account the size of the area, the topography and the average environmental noise.
- Software-supported sound propagation prediction for possible siren locations based on all criteria that may influence sound propagation.
- Design of a complete, fail-safe system including siren types, number of sirens, type of central technology and taking any existing components such as sirens or control stations into account.
- Concept check on site. In the last step, we compare theoretical assumptions with the local conditions and adapt the concept accordingly.
- Definition and integration of interfaces to existing customer systems.
This is how you get the optimum system to meet your requirements in accordance with our motto: on time, state-of-the-art, future-proof and reliable.
Your advantages:
- Experience from over 50 years of siren development
- Over 60,000 sirens installed in Germany alone
- Software-supported planning for the most effective warning system
- Global partnerships in over 40 sales regions
- Practical test included
Warning Systems for Plants at Risk of Major Incidents
Split-second alerts in case of an malfunction
In oil, gas or petrochemical refineries, in chemical plants and in nuclear power plants, malfunctions often entail major hazards for employees and the surrounding population. For example, there may be a risk of explosion or fires may release toxic substances that present a health hazard in the form of smoke clouds or during precipitation. Radioactive substances can escape from nuclear power plants. This is why these companies around the world are obliged to install appropriate warning systems. As these plants are often vast and have a high noise level, sirens are the most obvious and effective way of raising the alarm. Siren concepts for plants at risk of major incidents range from an alarm system for evacuating employees to networked solutions that are linked to regional or national warning systems.
Requirements for siren concepts for refineries, chemical plants and nuclear power plants
- High-performance sirens with audio and voice output
- Option to combine with in-house alarm systems
- Sectional triggering is an option
- Clear voice playback
- Operational even in the event of a power failure
- Operational in extreme ambient conditions
- Simple connection option to higher-level regional and national alarm systems
Siren concepts for plants at risk of major incidents
Siren warning systems for plants at risk of major incidents generally comprise a small number of high-performance sirens with an audio and voice output function such as our ECN-D product line. There is usually just one control centre, possibly combined with an additional option for triggering the warning system, either in the form of a second backup control centre or simply an emergency push button. The standard component in the control centre is our MCE gateway combined with a PC with CCCS software or the RCS remote control panel. Communication with the sirens usually takes place wirelessly or via internal TCP/IP networks. It is important that the solutions used have an open interface architecture. This allows other communication options such as RS485, fibre optic or other technologies to be used.
The sirens integrated into the plant’s own warning system are primarily used to warn the plant’s employees in the event of an accident. Precise sound propagation analyses created by our experts ensure that the sirens will be heard in the relevant zones prior to installing them, but that the volume of the alarm sound will not do any damage to health. Sometimes the sirens also feature flashing lights to increase visibility. Since it is not only people outside, but also employees inside the buildings that need to be warned in the event of an accident, additional interior sirens are sometimes necessary. The noise level in these settings is often so high that outdoor sirens such as the ECN-D 600 are required.
If there is a danger to the population due to an accident, the warning is usually issued via siren networks installed by the authorities. This is why sirens in refineries, chemical plants or nuclear power plants are often linked to governmental warning systems via their control centres so that the population can also be warned promptly in the event of an accident. Integration takes place via I/O interfaces as well as via dedicated lines or other network connections. Nuclear power plants generally operate the largest in-plant siren networks because in the event of an accident, the alarm zone generally covers a radius of approximately 30 km around the nuclear power plant.
HÖRMANN Warnsysteme has already successfully implemented many siren solutions around the world, including joint projects with government agencies and corporations.
Case Study
Electronic sirens for the industry under most extreme environmental conditions
Flood Warning Systems for Dams
Sirens for dams safety and flood warning – when there is a risk of flooding, time is of the essence
There are thousands of dams around the world. Rivers are dammed using reservoirs for drinking water supply, for irrigation or for the generation of energy using hydropower. In mining, mining companies create dams or retention basins for water and for the sediments that remain after rinsing the mining product, such as copper, iron ore, gold or silver. This sediment, whether it is liquid, mud or stone, is often toxic or radioactive. Dams like these present a fundamental risk to the population living in their vicinity. Even if they were originally designed to be safe, ageing of the materials, storms, earthquakes as well as human error can cause a dam to burst. When dams burst, masses of water or mud plunge into valleys and civilians are often left with little time to get to safety.
As well as establishing a safe work environment for the miners and dam workers, a strong emphasis also needs to be placed on civil protection. This applies to surface mining as well as to hydropower plants and reservoirs for water supply. This is why sensors are used to monitor the dam structure and trigger a predefined warning and information process in the event of imminent danger. A clear warning needs to be sent out within seconds. And not just directly at the dam itself, but also across the entire area that is at risk of being flooded by the tidal wave or mud slide. Siren warning systems are essential in this context. They are loud and clear. This is why they are not only installed in the mining area, but also along the possible route that the water or the mud may take if a dam breaks or if there is a planned opening of the locks. In addition to raising the alarm in an emergency, they are also used to warn people in case of tidal waves, for example when large amounts of water are specifically drained off.
Siren system requirements for dams
- Alarm signal must be able to reach everyone in the entire danger area
- Tripping in seconds
- Availability must be independent of the power grid
- Every necessary communication infrastructure must be possible
- Integration into national warning systems must be possible
Warning systems for hydro or tailing dams - how sirens protect the public
Siren warning for hydro dams
Sirens are ideal warning systems for dams - easy to integrate into the warning infrastructure, reliable, very low-maintenance and operational for many years. They warn people downstream quickly and unambiguously of the water masses flowing into the valley through controlled release or, in the worst case, through a dam failure. Therefore all over the world, dam operators rely on siren warning systems from HÖRMANN Warnsysteme. Do you have any questions? Please contact us without obligation.
Siren warning for tailing dams
People living below mines are at risk of a tailing dam break. Operators therefore rely on early detection of weak points. However, should a dam burst, employees and the population must be warned quickly. Electronic sirens are ideal for this purpose. Integrated into a warning infrastructure, they provide a quick and clear warning of the danger and can thus save lives.
Components of a siren warning system for reservoirs, dams and retention basins
Control units
The dam is mostly monitored on site. The on-site control centre usually has all the information and is responsible for triggering sirens in a matter of seconds in case of imminent danger. This is primarily the case for private operators of mines or hydropower plants. One control centre is often sufficient, but sometimes there are two. It is not uncommon for government agencies to be given another control centre or to be included in a network with those of the dam operator. In the case of state-owned energy providers who operate several hydropower plants, and also in the case of larger plants, the local control centres are generally supplemented by one or more central control centres which are all connected in one network. Sometimes there are also backup centres. Large infrastructures like these are usually managed via PC-supported control centres and CCCS operating software. Siren warning systems for dams are usually small to medium-sized siren networks with the MCE gateway as a standard component in the control unit, supplemented by a remote control panel or external solutions for triggering. In this instance too, the communication structure is designed so that the alarm can be raised within a very short time. The MCE gateway demonstrates its flexibility here as its scalable hardware and many interfaces enable networked master-slave control centres as well as individual, also networked, redundant control centres to be established.
Sirens
Dams can feature siren warning systems with just one siren all the way up to siren networks with several hundred sirens. But this is the exception. Usually warning systems comprise up to 25 sirens. These often need to be installed several kilometres away from the dam. Our experts determine the optimum siren locations using sound propagation analyses and the required siren output for the relevant site. Communication options and a guarantee of the power supply also need to be taken into account. Electronic sirens such as the ECN-D can be optionally operated by local solar panels and are therefore separate from the power grid. However, they are still able to maintain the alarm signal at the same output for at least 30 minutes. They are also able to output voice texts and announcements and therefore also have an information function in addition to their warning function.
Communication
Communication between the control centres and the sirens needs to be flexible because when it comes to dams, the infrastructures can differ vastly from one case to another. The control units usually communicate with the sirens wirelessly, but our sirens are also linked via Modbus RTU or other communication channels. The MCE gateway provides the required communication flexibility thanks to its flexible interfaces and wide-ranging support for standard communication protocols, whether this is to the sirens, between control centres or via I/O interfaces with solutions from third-party providers. By developing our own hardware and software, we are able to react to every need and establish appropriate concepts.
Warning System for Cities and Municipalities
Civil protection in cities – sirens provide a quick warning in the event of a disaster
In Germany, warning the population in the event of disasters and other dangers is a state issue. The federal government is only responsible for civil protection in matters of defence. Around 80,000 sirens were in use up to the end of the Cold War. Back then, there was still a national siren network. These sirens were largely dismantled at the start of the 1990s for cost reasons. Germany has not had a nationwide siren network ever since. Only municipalities that took over the costs for the network kept their sirens. In Austria too, many cities and municipalities operate their own siren networks.
The higher incidence of natural disasters, such as floods or hurricanes, as well as major fires or toxic substances in the air, which has made systems for alerting civilians necessary, has triggered a change in approach. Cities and municipalities, supported by their respective countries, have been constructing siren networks over recent years. Sirens are an essential part of a civil protection concept when you need to warn your civilians of an emergency quickly and reliably. They also let you reach people who may not have their radio on or their mobile phone with them or who are not connected to the internet. Sirens that not only warn, but also inform. In addition to siren alarms, sirens in some siren networks can also be used to output voice messages or radio announcements.
Requirements for regional siren warning systems:
- Suitable for warning the public, but also for alerting fire services
- Can be integrated into multi-level siren networks, for example regional or national
- Connection option or flow of information between private warning systems, such as in plants at risk of major incidents, and the city warning systems
- Multi-level control centre infrastructure possible
- Can be integrated into warning concepts such as MoWas (Federal Modular Warning System) and into the analogue or digital BOS radio network of the respective country
- Alternative communication options, e.g. via analogue UHF/VHF radio, DMR, TETRA, VPN, GPRS
- Cost-effective to operate
- Easy to maintain and long-lasting
Individual planning for the optimal urban siren system
Sirens have technically developed in the last few years. Accordingly, it is necessary taking into account all important parameters (sound pressure, building development, ambient noise, site conditions, etc.) to select the right locations where to install the electronic sirens. Our specialists therefore plan each siren system individually and thus find both the optimal locations and the appropriate electronic siren models. In addition to location criteria such as hazards, immission, topographical, meteorological and structural conditions, economic aspects are also taken into account.
In urban warning systems, often there is also a kind of dual use, with some electronic sirens being used specifically to alert the fire department. In addition to a central control center, which monitors and manages the entire siren system, the fire department sirens are often triggered by a simple local control unit at the push of a button. Sometimes loudspeakers can also be integrated in buildings to warn the fire department.
In addition to radio, the activation of the sirens via a dedicated line is also a common method. Communication connections such as VPN or GPRS are also possible. Of course, the individual communication media can also be combined to increase the reliability of a system. The experts at HÖRMANN Warnsysteme were not only involved in the development of the siren network in Germany at that time, but can also draw on the experience of a number of installed mass warning systems in cities and municipalities in Germany and abroad.
