The inner workings of controls and

actuators in three types of fire and

smoke dampers are explained
F i r e - a n d S m o k e -
Damper Control
testing. Dampers with blade switches or actuators
with internal auxiliary switches provide proof of
closure.
Fi re dampers normal l y cl ose when the
temperature of the fusible link reaches 165F,
although some local variations
exist. For example, if steam coils
are present in ducts, use of a 212F
high limit may be used. The fire-
damper temperature then may
rise a couple thousand degrees, but the damper
will hold for the time rating for which it was
designed.
Each year, several million fire dampers are
installed in barriers designed to slow the spread of
fire (Photo A).
Smoke dampers. Smoke dampers, which are
actuated, must open and close when required
to provide fresh air or to stop smoke passage.
They do not have to have high-limit sensors
or fusible links to close automatically. Smoke
dampers often provide signaling for indicator
lights, as discussed later in this article.
Practices vary by geographical region and
by type of smoke control mandated by codes.
Most commonly, a smoke detector (or two)
inside of ducts will shut down fans and close
T
he No. 1 question about fire and smoke
dampers that mechanical engineers and
contractors ask is, How do the controls
work with the actuators? This article explains
that.
Damper typeS
We must clearly distinguish
among three types of dampers.
Fire dampers. Fire dampers,
which rarely are actuated, close when a rise in
temperature occurs and stay shut to stop fire from
passing through a barrier. About 90 percent of
fire dampers are curtain-type dampers that close
when a mechanical fusible link melts, releasing
a closing mechanism. A damper must be in the
plane of a firewall, although some jurisdictions
make exceptions if ducts are heavy duty. Out-
of-partition dampers are available from most
manufacturers.
In a few cases, auxiliary contacts are needed
to prove opening and closing in periodic
Larry Felker is a product manager for Belimo
Americas. He is a member of the International Code
Council, the National Fire Protection Association,
and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerat-
ing and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
He serves on ASHRAE Technical Committee (TC)
1.4: Control Theory and Application and is a
corresponding member of ASHRAE TC 5.6:
Control of Fire and Smoke.
By Larry FeLKer
Belimo Americas
Sparks, Nev.
2 January 2008 HPAC Engineering
PHOTO A. Curtain fire dampers.
P
h
o
t
o

c
o
u
r
t
e
s
y

o
f

P
o
t
t
o
r
f
f
dampers if smoke is detected. Area
smoke detectors sometimes are wired
to a central fire-alarm panel, while a
panel contact or remote relay initiates
closing.
Smoke dampers do not need to
be within a wall providing a smoke
barrier; they merely need to be within
24 in. of the wall. As a result, the
actuators may be axle-shaft mounted.
However, most are jackshaft mounted
with linkage to the damper blades
(Photo B).
Combination fire and smoke dampers.
Because combination fire and smoke
dampers, which are more common
than si mpl e smoke dampers, are
fire-rated, their blades must be in a
barrier wall. The actuator cannot be in
the wall, so a jackshaft and linkage are
employed with the actuator connected
to the jackshaft extension outside of
the damper sleeve.

(There are other
methods. However, this is standard in
the United States.) Almost all current
actuators are direct-coupled.
BaSiC ControL
There are several accepted methods
of temperature sensing and actuator
control. A fusible link that restrains
a shaft spring can perform the fire-
damper function while an actuator
provides the smoke-control func-
tion. The fusible link disconnects the
damper blades from the actuator and
ensures its closure. The actuator can
open and close for smoke management
only until the fusible link melts.
Alternately, an electric bimetal sensor
with a reset button can be used for the
single primary sensor.
The system in Figure 1 is found in
about 80 percent of the combination
fire and smoke dampers on the market
today. A smoke detector with a local
thermal sensor is used as shown in
Figure 1, which is a containment-
damper application.
reopenaBLe DamperS
An engi neered smoke-control
system with reopenable dampers is less
common. These have provisions for a
firefighter to control the dampers more
precisely.
Combi nat i on f i r e and s moke
dampers in smoke-control systems
3 HPAC Engineering January 2008
Damper Control
Felker FIGURE 1.
If the temperature at the re/smoke damper
rises to 165F, the thermal disk opens and
removes power from the actuator. When
this happens, the damper springs closed.
The thermal switch normally is closed below set-point temperature.
When the temperature rises above 165F, the switch opens. This stops
the current ow to the actuator, and the damper closes. The switch
must be reset manually before it will close again and open the damper.
Actuator
Thermal
switch
Neutral
165F
Smoke detector
or other alarm
contacts
Line
(voltage)
The actuator is mounted
so that the damper can
spring closed. The actuator
is powered open for most
of its life.
FIGURE 1. A combination fire and smoke damper open.
PHOTO B. A smoke damper.
F
i
g
u
r
e

c
o
u
r
t
e
s
y

o
f

P
o
t
t
o
r
f
f
P
h
o
t
o

c
o
u
r
t
e
s
y

o
f

P
o
t
t
o
r
f
f
have two sensorspri mary and
secondary. The primary can be over-
ridden by firefighters control; the
secondary is manually reset at the
damper only.
When a dual sensor is used, the
first sensor always is electric. It opens,
removes power, and lets the actuator
spring the damper closed. The second
sensor may be a fusible link or a higher-
temperature electric sensor. Typically,
a primary sensor will register 165F
before closing a damper, while the
secondary sensor will register 250F. In
about 15 percent of cases, the second-
ary sensor will register 350F.
The wi r i ng of a dual - s ens or
combination fire and smoke damper
can be seen in Figure 2. If a fire were
to break out and duct temperature
were to increase to 165F, the damper
would spring closed to keep the fire
from spreading. However, firefighters
could choose to reopen the damper
for smoke-control purposes. If the
temperature reached the 250F (some-
times 350F) l imit, power again
would be cut off and the actuator
would spring closed. It could not be
opened again until a reset button were
pressed. Firefighters also could close an
open damper to prevent oxygen from
feeding a fire or air pressure from
pushing smoke into other areas.
Ori gi nal dampers had rel ease
mechani sms t hat onl y i ncl uded
external springs. Actuators did not have
an internal spring. Later, a fusible link
and dual springs were standard. One
fire spring was used to close the damper
until the fusible link could be replaced,
while a separate actuator spring was
used to close the damper if the actuator
lost power, although the actuator could
reopen against the spring. Now, most
manufacturers use electronic methods
of sensing and control. The actuator
spring is the only spring in most recent
designs.
inDiCator LightS
A f i ref i ght ers smoke-cont rol
system (FSCS) has status-indication
lights in addition to manual hand-
off-auto switches. The lights allow
for verification of damper position
and override status. They can be
initiated from auxiliary switches on an
actuator, damper-blade switches, or
proximity switches.
Actuator switches of ten are preferred,
as they are as reliable as blade-switch
4 January 2008 HPAC Engineering
D a m p e r C o n t r o L
Common
24 v or neutral
Felker _Fig_3
Green on = open
Red on = closed
Normally
open contact
Changes over when the damper
is open greater than 85 degrees
Changes over when the damper is open
greater than 10 degrees
Normally
closed contact
Contacts can be actuator auxiliary
contacts or damper-blade switches
Hot
24 v or Line 1
(Phase 1)
FIGURE 3. Indication-light wiring for a single damper.
Actuator
Neutral
165F 250F
Smoke detector
or other alarm
contacts
Felker_Fig_2
Hot
Hand-off-auto
(HOA)
Auto
Off
Hand
Sequence of operation:
l the duct temerature reaches 1G5F or the external alarm contact
opens, power to the actuator is cut and the damper springs closed.
l the h0A switch at the lreluhters' control station is moved to
hand, then the contact and thermal switch are bypassed, the
actuator receives ower, and the damer oens.
l the duct temerature reaches 25OF, then the actuator srinus the
damper closed. Manual reset is required.
l the h0A switch is moved to "oll" at anv time, the actuator srinus
closed.
Fireluhters' control anel
FIGURE 2. Dual-sensor reopenable damper wiring.
indication. The l inkage between
actuator jackshaft and damper is more
robust than the typical coat-hanger
connection from damper blade to
switch package.
Fully engineered smoke-control
systems exist in about only 10 per-
cent of applications. Firefighters have
control of dampers in these systems.
Indicator lights show the systems
status.
Figure 3 shows a simple method
of i ndi cat or - l i ght wi r i ng. The
lights could be in a panel or local
junction box, which could be located
in the ceiling. An FSCS panel also
would have an amber light indicating
fault. If the damper were closed, the
red light would be on. If the damper
were open, the green light would be
on. A variety of wiring methods are
possible.
In some jurisdictions, the red light
means fire or problem, while the
green light means OK. In other
areas, green means on, and red means
off, particularly for fans. Although
rare, some dampers normally are open
when not powered, and the red and
green lights could be switched. This can
confuse a fi refi ghter duri ng the
commotion of a fire. Indication lights
should be discussed with a local fire
department to ensure correct opera-
tion.
proportionaL Damper ControL
Figure 4 shows two proportional
applications. The pressure in a stairwell
or duct may need to be controlled at
a certain set point. A smoke damper
is required if a wall also is part of a
smoke barrier. Given typical space
constraints, one damper and actuator
are technically and economically
superior to two (or three, if a wall also is
a fire barrier).
There are two ways to provide
proportional damper control:
No proportional electric actuator
meets Uniform Building Code (UBC)
criteria for 15 sec of operation. These
actuators cannot be installed in UBC
regions (which currently are Califor-
nia and a few outside cities). In these
cases, two dampers are required. A two-
position fire and smoke damper sits in
the rated wall. A standard proportional
damper and actuator are installed in
series.
In International Building Code
regions, a proportional fire and smoke
damper and actuator can be installed
because the code (based on Under-
writers Laboratories 555S, Standard
for Smoke Dampers) requires a 75-sec
maximum for operation. Actuators that
meet the 75-sec requirement (20 sec to
spring closed, 75 sec to drive open) are
available.
ConCLuSion
The type of damper used depends
on the appl i cati on. Actuati on i s
provided for smoke-control dampers
and combination fire and smoke
dampers. Containment systems are
the most common, while reopenable
dampers provide fire departments with
more options.
By following the wiring diagrams in
this article and comparing them with
the sequence of operation, one can
gain an understanding of the operation
requirements for interfaces between
mechanical and control systems.
Code s a nd pr a c t i c e s di f f e r
geographically. One should consult
local inspectors, contractors, and
representatives with specific questions.
The methods shown in this article
are typical, although practices may
vary.
For past HPAC Engineering feature
articles, visit www.hpac.com.
5 HPAC Engineering January 2008
D a m p e r C o n t r o L
(Size: 27 or 41 picas wide.)
Felker FIGURE 4.
Power
165F
3
2
1
Differential-pressure
sensor
Controller
Proportional
actuator
Stairwell
pressurization
Above ceiling or to
underoor distribution
Wall
Shaft
Two position actuator
Proportional
Proportional
actuator
FIGURE 4. Proportional applications.