Public Address & Voice Alarm
(PAVA) System Design
Life-safety PAVA system design for all building types — EN 54-16 and BS 5839-8 compliant voice evacuation, background music and general PA design with speaker layouts, zone schedules, BOQ and specifications.
What We Offer
A Public Address and Voice Alarm system is a critical life-safety infrastructure component in any building with public occupancy. ASDV Consultant provides professional PAVA design services covering both voice alarm (EN 54-16 compliant) and general PA/BGM functions in an integrated system design.
We design PAVA systems for airports, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals, educational campuses, corporate offices, transport terminals, industrial facilities and multi-use developments. Our designs address intelligibility (STI/STIPA calculations), speaker coverage (-60 dBSPL design standard), zone configuration, amplifier sizing, backup power and integration with fire alarm systems.
PAVA design requires precise acoustic analysis to ensure message intelligibility during emergencies. We perform Speech Transmission Index (STI) calculations to verify that the designed speaker system will deliver intelligible evacuation messages under worst-case ambient noise conditions.
Why Choose ASDV?
- Certified ELV design consultants with 10+ years experience
- AutoCAD & Revit BIM deliverables for seamless coordination
- Full compliance with Indian & international standards
- Transparent pricing with detailed BOQ and specifications
- Pan-India service with international project capability
Design Deliverables
Speaker Layout Drawings
Floor-by-floor AutoCAD drawings showing speaker positions, coverage radii, cable routes and device schedules.
Acoustic Calculations
SPL and STI calculations verifying coverage adequacy and speech intelligibility in each zone.
System Architecture Diagram
PAVA equipment topology showing amplifiers, zone controllers, emergency microphone stations and fire alarm interfaces.
Zone Schedule & Routing Matrix
Zone configuration table defining which speaker zones respond to which inputs and emergency signals.
Bill of Quantities
Itemised material and installation quantities for competitive tendering.
Technical Specifications
Equipment specifications covering amplifiers, speakers, cables, rack equipment and emergency evacuation system requirements.
What's Included
Our Design Process
Requirement Analysis
Define evacuation zones, paging requirements, background music areas, ambient noise levels and applicable standards.
Acoustic Zone Planning
Define speaker zones aligned with fire alarm zones, occupancy areas and evacuation routes.
Speaker Placement Design
Design speaker coverage per zone using SPL calculations to meet -60 dBSPL above ambient noise level.
STI Calculation
Calculate Speech Transmission Index (STI/STIPA) for each zone to verify evacuation message intelligibility.
System Design & BOQ
Produce amplifier sizing, system schematics, zone routing matrix, equipment schedules and BOQ.
Tender & Commissioning
Support tendering, review submittals, witness system commissioning and STI verification testing.
Standards & Codes We Design To
Frequently Asked Questions
A Public Address (PA) system provides general announcements and background music. A Voice Alarm (VA) system is a life-safety system that provides intelligible emergency evacuation instructions during a fire or other emergency. A PAVA system combines both functions — general PA for everyday use and a EN 54-16 certified voice alarm mode activated by the fire alarm system.
STI (Speech Transmission Index) is a measure of speech intelligibility on a scale from 0 (unintelligible) to 1 (perfect). EN 54-16 and BS 5839-8 require a minimum STI of 0.5 (Fair) in all occupied areas for voice alarm systems. STI is calculated or measured to verify that the speaker system will deliver intelligible evacuation messages even in noisy environments.
The PAVA system is interfaced with the fire alarm control panel (FACP) via dry contact outputs or a BACnet/TCP-IP interface. When the FACP triggers a fire condition in a specific zone, it automatically activates the corresponding PAVA speaker zones with the pre-recorded or live evacuation message, overriding any background music or general PA in progress.
PAVA designs use ceiling speakers for indoor areas, column speakers for corridors and atria, horn speakers for car parks, plant rooms and outdoor areas, and in-ceiling line array speakers for high-noise industrial environments. Speaker selection depends on the ambient noise level, ceiling height and intelligibility requirement of each zone.
Need a PAVA System Design?
Contact ASDV Consultant for a life-safety compliant PAVA design package including STI calculations and BOQ.