Why contractors bring us their VESDA work
VESDA and aspirating smoke detection design
Very early warning detection, designed and calculated so it passes the first time.
Aspirating smoke detection is where a lot of fire alarm designs fall down: the pipe network is drawn but never calculated, the transport time is never verified, and the system is treated as a detector instead of a system. ProTech CDS designs complete aspirating smoke detection: detector and zone layout, pipe network design with ASPIRE calculations, sampling hole sizing and transport time verification, power and battery calculations, relay and fire alarm integration, and the sequence of operations. Built for data centers, clean rooms, telecom, museums, and other high-value or hard-to-detect spaces.
VESDAASPIRE CalculationsTransport Time VerifiedNFPA 72Data CentersClean RoomsWhite-Label Delivery
Where it fits
Spaces where spot detection is too slow, too visible, or too hard to maintain.
Aspirating detection continuously draws air through a sampled pipe network to a central detector, so it sees smoke long before a ceiling device would and keeps the detection hardware out of the protected space. We lay out the zones, size and route the pipe, place and size every sampling hole, and verify transport time to each one, then tie the detector into the fire alarm with the relays, monitoring, and sequence of operations the AHJ will ask for.
The deliverable is a permit-ready package: plans, pipe isometrics, calculations, device and battery schedules, and a written sequence of operations.
In data centers, aspirating detection is often part of the detection scheme that controls pre-action sprinkler and clean agent release. We design the detection and release side and coordinate the suppression engineering with your specialist. See our data center capabilities.
- Data center white space, hot and cold aisles, and underfloor plenums
- Clean rooms and semiconductor process areas
- Telecom switch rooms, server closets, and in-cabinet sampling
- Museums, archives, and heritage buildings where devices must stay out of sight
- Warehouses, atriums, and high-ceiling spaces where spot detection is slow or hard to maintain
- In-duct sampling for return air and HVAC monitoring
- Cold storage, freezers, and dusty or humid environments with filtered sampling
Calculated, not sketched
Every pipe network is run through ASPIRE: sampling hole sizes, flow balance, and transport time at each hole, so the design meets the listing and NFPA 72 before anyone cuts pipe.
Integrated with the fire alarm
Relay outputs, monitoring, alert and action thresholds, and the sequence of operations are designed with the building fire alarm, not bolted on after.
We're invisible
Your title block. Your brand. Your client. We never advertise who we work with.
One partner, any jurisdiction
The same design team handles your fire alarm, sprinkler, and aspirating detection, with AHJ submittal support and PE seal support wherever the project is.
How we quote VESDA design
Scoped by zones, detectors, and pipe network, not by guesswork.
Send us the floor plans, the spaces to be protected, and the fire alarm system the detection ties into. We quote from the detector count, the number of zones, and the complexity of the pipe network, so the number reflects the actual design work. Request a quote through the portal. AHJ revisions due to our errors are included at no cost.