Start with the system type. A conventional panel divides the building into zones, each a group of detectors and call points on one circuit, so it shows which area is in alarm but not which device. Sizes run from 2 zones to 128: Agni Oriel and Eco (2 to 8 zones, up to 25 detectors per zone), Bosch FPC-500 (2, 4 or 8 zones), Siemens Cerberus FIT (2 to 12 zones), Morley Lite (2 to 8 circuits), Ceasefire and the Soft-Chip Mono Series (2 to 32 zones), and Ravel (2 to 8 zones, plus the RE-900 series from 12 to 128 zones). Approvals differ: Soft-Chip and Agni list IS 2189:1999, Ceasefire EN 54-2 and 4, Bosch VdS, Siemens LPCB, and Ravel UL 864 and NFPA 72 for its RE-2554, RE-2558 and RE-900 panels. Leave spare zones for later extension.
An addressable panel gives every detector, call point and module its own address on a loop, so it shows the exact device in alarm; the devices must use the panel's own protocol. Agni FYRLAAST (1, 2 or 4 loops), Ravel Avani (1 to 4 loops) and Bosch AVENAR panel 2000 (up to four loop modules) take 254 devices per loop, Ceasefire Intelli-Sense 240 (1 to 8 loops), and Morley UL panels 159 detectors and 39 modules. Morley by Honeywell DXc, ZXSe and Max panels run 1 to 8 loops and can be networked. Siemens rates its panels by addresses, from 126 up to 1512 on the modular FC726 and Sinteso FC2060, and Notifier panels reach 3,180 devices on the INSPIRE N16X. Count your devices, divide by the loop capacity and keep room for growth.
If the main panel sits in a plant room or basement, add a repeater or annunciator from the same family at the reception or security desk. A display only unit shows status, while an active repeater or remote terminal also lets staff accept, silence and reset there. Ceasefire, Agni and Ravel offer repeaters and remote displays for their own panels (Ravel versions up to 256 zones), Morley Max the MA-LCD7 touchscreen repeater, Bosch the FPE-8000-FMR remote keypad and BAT 100 LSN LED display, Siemens remote fire terminals and floor repeaters, and Notifier LCD and LED annunciators up to the INSPIRE NCD with a 10 inch touch screen. For a mimic panel on a building plan, add an LED driver such as the Bosch ATB 420 LSNi, Morley by Honeywell 315-040, Notifier LDM-32 or Siemens FT2001.
Finally, check special needs. For evacuation, the Bosch FPA-2000-PWM and PFM kits add evacuation functions, the Siemens FC722-HA and FC724-HA carry an EVAC operating unit, the Notifier INSPIRE N16X has integrated voice options and Agni offers an Oriel panel with a PA system. The Notifier RP-2001(E) and RP-2002(E) are six zone releasing panels for deluge and preaction sprinklers, designed for NFPA 13, 15 and 16. The Honeywell HS-81 fire and gas controller for industrial sites has redundant hot-swappable CPUs, in EN (EN 54-2) and UL (UL 864) versions, both SIL2. The Siemens FC723, FC2030 and FC2060 modular panels help modernise older SynoLOOP or collective installations. For unmanned sites, the Soft-Chip cloud panel reports 8 zones to the Smart Alert app, and the Siemens FC722-ZZG and FC724-ZAG connect to the Cerberus Cloud through an X200 gateway.