Bosch Security Systems has supplied the complete fire alarm system for Shangri-La's Boracay Resort and Spa in the Philippines. Located in the northern part of the Boracay island, the Resort includes 350 metres of pristine beachfront with 219 rooms, suites and villas in a classic-yet-contemporary style infused with local cultural influences. Alongside the main complex with reception, the resort comprises fun-filled entertainment centre, child-friendly adventure zone, spas and many restaurants and bars.

In order to efficiently supply the entire site with just one integrated fire alarm system, the planners decided on a networked solution with the Modular Fire Panel Series 5000 from Bosch. Four of these fire panels were installed in various locations on the island in order to ensure complete coverage of the resort with fire detectors. The main and ancillary panels support totally 17 detection loops with 1,350 fire detectors. Thanks to the networking, all panels can be managed and operated jointly like one single system so that only one central operator work point had to be installed.

It was predominantly this "networkability", along with renowned reliability and a minimal false alarm rate that was crucial in the selection of the Bosch panels. Networking multiple panels allow routes from the fire panels to the periphery elements to remain short and thus help avoid electrical faults. Even with dispersed panels the loops in the Shangri-La still reached a length of more than 2,000 meters. Further challenges were posed by the tropical conditions with temperatures of up to 40 degrees centigrade and humidity of 99 percent. In order to overcome these challenges and avoid voltage drops and interference, shielded multicore cables were used for the installation, which were mostly laid underground.

Bosch's 5000 Series panel is a modular solution for medium to large-scale applications. Based on the CAN-Bus standard, proven in its application in automobile technology, up to 32 panels with a maximum of 32,000 detector points can be networked and operated as one integrated system.