Non-proprietary systems
Your panel should not decide who you are allowed to hire.
Some fire alarm panels are sold through distribution. Others are sold, programmed and serviced mainly through the manufacturer or its dealer network. Non-proprietary equipment, where the project allows, gives you more flexibility in who can service the system later, and when Moro Cojo installs or replaces a system that is what we use.
A decision aid for owners comparing bids. No brand names, no savings claims.
The difference
A question about how equipment is sold, not about which system is better.
Fire alarm control panels are sold in different ways. Some manufacturers sell through independent distributors and make programming software and training available to qualified technicians. Systems built on that equipment are usually called non-proprietary. Others are sold, programmed and serviced mainly by the manufacturer or its authorized dealer network, and with those the owner's options for future service can be narrower.
One piece of vocabulary before you read the comparison. In fire alarm work the word proprietary also names a type of supervising station, which is a different subject entirely. On this page it refers only to the way equipment is sold and supported.
- How it is sold
- Non-proprietaryThrough independent electrical and security distributors, so purchasing is not tied to a single dealer.
- ProprietaryMainly by the manufacturer or its authorized dealer network.
- Who can program and service the panel
- Non-proprietaryMore than one manufacturer-trained, qualified contractor.
- ProprietaryGenerally the manufacturer or an authorized dealer, so the owner’s options for future service can be narrower.
- Bidding out inspection, testing or repairs
- Non-proprietaryWhen you are ready to bid that work out, more than one qualified contractor can respond.
- ProprietaryThe field of contractors in a position to respond can be narrower.
- Panels and compatible devices
- Non-proprietarySold through distribution. Devices still have to be listed as compatible with the panel.
- ProprietarySourced through the manufacturer or its dealer network.
Neither column is a statement about quality. Proprietary equipment is not worse equipment, and nothing on this page says one kind of system protects a building better than the other. The difference is about who you can hire later.
After the project closes
The bid is short. The system is long.
A fire alarm system stays in a building for many years and needs inspection, testing, repairs and the occasional change over that time. On a construction project the party selecting the equipment is often not the party that pays to maintain it afterward, which is how an equipment decision made in a few minutes ends up shaping a building's options for a long time.
That is where the difference shows up. On a non-proprietary system, more than one manufacturer-trained, qualified contractor can program, service and maintain the panel, so the owner is not tied to the original installer. When you are ready to bid out inspection, testing or repairs, more than one qualified contractor can respond.
We use non-proprietary equipment. When Moro Cojoinstalls or replaces a system, that is the equipment we use. The scope is deliberate: if weservice a system already in your building, we work with the panel that is there. Equipment choice belongs to a new system or a replacement, not to a service call.
Before you sign
Five questions worth asking any bidder.
Put them to every bid you receive, including ours. The answers tell you what you are buying after the install price stops mattering.
Is the panel you are proposing sold through distribution, or only through the manufacturer and its dealers?
This is the question the words non-proprietary and proprietary are actually about. Ask it first and the rest of the conversation gets easier.
If I bid out inspection, testing and repairs a few years from now, who would be able to respond?
A specific answer is worth more than a label. Ask who, not just whether.
What does a contractor need in order to program this panel?
Programming access is the practical gate. Each manufacturer controls its own software and training, and the requirements differ from one line to the next.
What documentation and access do I receive at the end of the project?
Record drawings, the record of completion and the panel configuration are what a future contractor would work from.
Are the panel and devices listed, including California State Fire Marshal listing?
Fire alarm equipment used in California has to be listed, including California State Fire Marshal listing, whatever the brand and however it is sold.
The honest limit
Non-proprietary does not mean anyone can work on the system.
NFPA 72 sets qualification requirements for the people who inspect, test, service and program fire alarm systems, California has its own contractor licensing and electrician certification requirements, and each manufacturer controls its own software and training. Equipment still has to be listed, including California State Fire Marshal listing, and installed to code regardless of brand.
So the claim on this page is a narrow one. Non-proprietary equipment widens the field of qualified contractors who can work on your system later. It does not make that field unlimited, it does not make anything cheaper by itself, and it is not a statement that one kind of system is safer than another. That is the entire claim, and we would rather state it narrowly now than have you find the gap later.
Ask about equipment
Comparing bids? Ask us the equipment questions too.
Tell us about the project or the building. You get a straight answer about equipment, including where a non-proprietary system would change nothing for you.
Prefer to talk?
(831) 455-5858After-hours service available. For an active fire or an unsafe condition, call 911.