What do I need to do for a building power shutdown?

What do I need to do for a building power shutdown?




If you have a power loss or shutdown scheduled, please read this article in it's entirety to understand what steps you should take.

Network and Trident Communication

Most Trident systems are connected to the customers network. If your network will be impacted by the power shut down then you should expect all Trident devices to report lost communication. If an SBS is on a cellular connection, it will continue to communicate as long as the SBS, Hubs and endpoints are still powered (See battery life below).

Hardware Battery Backup Life

Smart Base Station (SBS)- Up to 4 hours on internal rechargeable backup battery
Hubs-Up to 5 days on internal rechargeable backup battery
Sensors- >3 years on 2-CR123 replaceable batteries
Valve Controllers- Up to 48 hours on 2-CR123 replaceable backup batteries
Devices that drain batteries during a power event will not report low/critical battery to the Trident Platform. During Re-open procedures, some devices may not reestablish communication and may need batteries replaced. (See re-open procedures). Make sure to have CR-123 batteries on hand during the re-open procedures for Sensors and Valve Controllers.

Pre-Shutdown Procedures

  1. Cellular Connection- Allow Trident to remain operational. Depending on the length of the shutdown and your notification settings, you may receive notifications when devices lose communication or have low/critical batteries during the shutdown. Most importantly, as long as devices are still in communication, you will be notified in the event of a leak.
  2. Ethernet/Cellular (Optional)- If you do not wish to replace batteries during re-open procedures, you can remove the batteries from any Valve Controllers as this device has the shortest battery backup life and will most likely need to be changed during re-open procedures.
  3. Ethernet/Cellular (Optional)- Depending on your notification configuration, you may receive notifications during a power shut down. If you do not want to receive notifications or reports during a shutdown you will want to take the following steps.
    1. Disconnect the ethernet cable from any SBS. If you do not have an ethernet cable connected, this indicates that your SBS is on a cellular connection and you will need to power down the SBS by gently depressing Button #1 on the bottom of the SBS with a small tool.

    2. Log in to the Trident Platform
    3. Navigate to each SBS details page --> Info Tab --> and change the Network Status to "Down". This status will automatically change to Up if network activity is detected. You will not need to change this during re-opening procedures.

Re-Open Procedures


  1. Reconnect ethernet cable to each SBS. If you powered down the SBS, verify that it has started up when power was restored.
  2. After 5 mins, verify network connectivity via the status lights on the SBS and by logging into the Trident Platform to see a current heartbeat.
  3. Once SBS is online, verify on the Trident Platform that the hubs have a current heartbeat. It may take 30 mins for all hubs to start communicating again. If a hub is still reporting lost communication, perform a manual re-registration by gently pressing Button #1 on the bottom of the device with a small tool.
  4. After all Hubs are in communication. Allow 2-3 hrs for all endpoints to establish communication.
    1. Endpoints that report low/critical battery should have batteries replaced.
    2. Endpoints that are still reporting lost communication should be manually registered or replace batteries.
If an SBS or Hub are reporting low/critical battery after 24 hours from re-opening, disconnect the power cable from the device and reconnect. This will force Trident to get an updated battery reading.
If you have followed these steps and your Trident System did not recover from an outage, please email support@thedetectiongroup.com


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