Motion Sensor with Electric Strike

[tod13511]

I have an existing fire-rated door equipped with a fail-secure electric strike. The door serves as egress from a residential corridor into a residential lobby. Access into the residential corridor is by card reader. Egress from the residential corridor is by lever. The condo board is asking if they can install a motion sensor on the corridor side to release the strike when a resident approaches the door so he or she can egress “hands free” (a convenience feature?). My assumption is that the strike releases for the same amount of time it would upon swiping a card and entering from the lobby.

I’ve never seen a motion sensor on an electric strike door, but I can’t think of how this would affect the positive latching requirement any differently than the card-swipe entry. The door would remain fail-secure and allow free egress with the use of the lever upon loss of power. I’d like to hear what you think about the code compliance of this arrangement.

 

[cda]

Is the door required to be rated??

Why??

 

[tod13511]

It's a residential corridor. 2012 IBC Table 1018.1. The corridor discharges to the exterior at the other end. They could have chosen to rate the lobby to meet the continuity requirement of 1018.6, but that's water over the dam. This building was actually built under BOCA in the '70s and is not sprinklered, so the corridor is 1 hour with 20 minute doors.

 

[Francis Vineyard]

tod13511

the 2012 USBC;

1008.1.9.8 Sensor release of electronically locked egress doors. The electric locks on sensor released doors located in a means of egress in buildings with an occupancy in Group A, B, E, I-1, I-2, I-4, M, R-1, or R-2 and entrance doors to tenant spaces in occupancies in Group A, B, E, I-1, I-2, I-4, M, R-1, or R-2 are permitted where installed and operated in accordance with all of the following criteria:

1. The sensor shall be installed on the egress side arranged to detect an occupant approaching the doors. The doors shall be arranged to unlock by a signal from or loss of power to the sensor.

2. Loss of power to the lock or locking system shall automatically unlock the doors.

3. The doors shall be arranged to unlock from a manual unlocking device located 40 inches to 48 inches (1016 mm to 1219 mm) vertically above the floor and within 5 feet (1524 mm) of the secured doors. Ready access shall be provided to the manual unlocking device and the device shall be clearly identified by a sign that reads "PUSH TO EXIT." When operated, the manual unlocking device shall result in direct interruption of power to the lock—independent of locking system electronics—and the doors shall remain unlocked for not less than 30 seconds.

4. Activation of the building fire alarm system, if provided, shall automatically unlock the doors, and the doors shall remain unlocked until the fire alarm system has been reset.

5. Activation of the building automatic sprinkler or fire detection system, if provided, shall automatically unlock the doors. The doors shall remain unlocked until the fire alarm system has been reset.

6. The door locking system units shall be listed in accordance with UL 294.

 

[cda]

tod13511 the 2012 USBC;

1008.1.9.8 Sensor release of electronically locked egress doors. The electric locks on sensor released doors located in a means of egress in buildings with an occupancy in Group A, B, E, I-1, I-2, I-4, M, R-1, or R-2 and entrance doors to tenant spaces in occupancies in Group A, B, E, I-1, I-2, I-4, M, R-1, or R-2 are permitted where installed and operated in accordance with all of the following criteria:

1. The sensor shall be installed on the egress side arranged to detect an occupant approaching the doors. The doors shall be arranged to unlock by a signal from or loss of power to the sensor.

2. Loss of power to the lock or locking system shall automatically unlock the doors.

3. The doors shall be arranged to unlock from a manual unlocking device located 40 inches to 48 inches (1016 mm to 1219 mm) vertically above the floor and within 5 feet (1524 mm) of the secured doors. Ready access shall be provided to the manual unlocking device and the device shall be clearly identified by a sign that reads "PUSH TO EXIT." When operated, the manual unlocking device shall result in direct interruption of power to the lock—independent of locking system electronics—and the doors shall remain unlocked for not less than 30 seconds.

4. Activation of the building fire alarm system, if provided, shall automatically unlock the doors, and the doors shall remain unlocked until the fire alarm system has been reset.

5. Activation of the building automatic sprinkler or fire detection system, if provided, shall automatically unlock the doors. The doors shall remain unlocked until the fire alarm system has been reset.

6. The door locking system units shall be listed in accordance with UL 294.

But can it be done on a Rated Door???

 

[cda]

6.4.4 Locks or Latches.

6.4.4.1 Only labeled locks and latches or labeled fire exit hardware (panic devices) meeting both life safety requirements and fire protection requirements shall be used.

6.4.4.2 Fire exit hardware shall be installed only on fire doors bearing a label stating “Fire Door to Be Equipped with Fire Exit Hardware.”

6.4.4.2.1 Fire exit hardware shall be labeled for both fire and panic.

6.4.4.2.2 Fire exit hardware shall have a permanently attached label that bears the serial number and shows the manufacturer's name and type of approval.

6.4.4.2.3 The label shall differentiate between panic hardware, which is not acceptable for use on fire doors, and fire exit hardware.

6.4.4.3 All single doors and active leaves of pairs of doors shall be provided with an active latch bolt that cannot be held in a retracted position as specified in the individual manufacturer's published listings.

6.4.4.3.1 Doors other than those used in means of egress shall be permitted to be provided with dead bolts in addition to the active latch bolts or as otherwise permitted by the AHJ.

6.4.4.3.2 Locks with dead bolts that are interconnected with latch bolts and retract when the latch bolt is retracted shall be permitted for use on fire doors within a means of egress.

6.4.4.3.3 Latching arrangements that do not provide positive latching in the normal mode shall be permitted to be used provided that, in a fire emergency, the door becomes positively latched by means of an automatic fail-safe device that is activated by an automatic fire detector. (See Section 4.7.)

6.4.4.4 Where both leaves are required for exit purposes, they shall be provided with labeled fire exit hardware.

6.4.4.4.1 Where permitted by the AHJ, pairs of doors not provided with an astragal shall be permitted to have labeled fire exit hardware and an open back strike installed on the inactive leaf, and either labeled fire exit hardware or any labeled latch capable of being opened by one obvious operation from the egress side installed on the active leaf.

6.4.4.5 Where a pair of doors is needed for the movement of equipment and where the inactive leaf of the pair of doors is not required for exit purposes, labeled, top and bottom, self-latching or automatic flush bolts, or labeled two-point latches shall be permitted.

6.4.4.5.1* Manually operated, labeled, top and bottom flush-mounted or surface-mounted bolts on the inactive leaf of a pair of doors shall be permitted to be used where acceptable to the AHJ, provided they do not pose a hazard to safety to life.

 

[Francis Vineyard]

2009 USBC; 1008.1.4.4 Access-controlled egress doors

 

[cda]

2009 USBC; 1008.1.4.4 Access-controlled egress doors

covers entrance doors

This section permits the building entrance doors in a means of egress and entrance doors to tenant spaces in occupancies of Groups A, B, E, I-2, M, R-1 and R-2 to be secured while maintaining them as a means of egress. Items 1 through 6 provide additional life safety measures to permit easier egress during normal and emergency situations. Occupancies in Groups F, S and H are not included here because of their increased hazard due to an increase in fuel load and other potentially life-threatening activities. This potential increase in life-threatening circumstances requires an immediate egress capacity without the necessary "waiting period" afforded by the access control of this section.

major question is these are required to be fire rated doors and meet fire rated door requirements

 

[Francis Vineyard]

cda, do the code sections answer the question are they permitted on doors that require panic hardware?

 

[steveray]

You shouldn't be able to put something that "unlatches" on alarm on a rated door IMHO....It should be listed for use on a rated door as well if that is the case....

 

[Ronald Bets]

The code says the door(s) have to "unlock" which is different than "unlatch".

 

[tod13511]

Thank you all for your input. I have been out of the office and disconnected for a couple weeks.

I have decided not to allow the motion sensor with the rated, electric strike (fail-secure) door. My research into motion sensors leads me to think that smoke and/or heat from a fire could cause the sensor to malfunction. That could lead to the door becoming unlatched when the corridor is filled with smoke. That would definitely not be a good thing. The permit holder might suggest making the electric strike fail-secure on fire alarm, but that just makes the whole deal more complicated than it needs to be. I think they can achieve their same function by adding a manual operator (maybe a button) adjacent to the door on the egress side that releases the strike temporarily, but is unlikely to malfunction under fire conditions.

 

[JBI]

Changing the lever handle to a push bar would also allow hands-free operation from the egress side (butt bump to open...).