What is the minimum operating time for a secondary battery in an alarm system when a trouble signal occurs?

The minimum operating time for a secondary battery in an alarm system when a trouble signal occurs is typically set to 4 minutes. This duration is crucial for maintaining system reliability, as it allows the alarm system to continue functioning long enough for operators or users to acknowledge the trouble condition and act accordingly.

During the 4-minute window, the system can alert personnel or initiate additional protocols to investigate or address the issue causing the trouble signal, ensuring safety and security is upheld. This standard is significant because it reflects an industry consensus on the balance between operational demands and battery capacity, ensuring that systems are reliably powered even during unforeseen circumstances.

Other potential durations, such as 2, 6, or 8 minutes, do not align with the established guidelines and performance expectations for secondary power sources in alarm systems when addressing trouble signals. Each of these other timeframes either falls short of effective response time or exceeds necessary operating limits, which may not be practical for most alarm system scenarios.