house PA system on backup power?

[Aman121]

When the power went out at our school the other day, I found out that the auditoriums PA system is wired into an emergency power circuit. The auditorium pa system is completly separate from the school wide PA system, which is obviously backed up. I guess the thinking was that if a blackout occurred while the house was full, the audience could be told not to panic and that emergency lights would be on soon. I don't know how much good this would really do, because the rack wouldn't receive power before the emergency lights come on; there would still be a short interruption while the backup generator spun up. Is putting non vital sound equipment on a backup generator common practice?
Whether its common or not, I did enjoy some rolling stones while I finished setting the stage by dim glow of the emergency floodlights.....

[chausman]

Many venues have at least part of the system on the backup system, as you said, for communicating with the audience as needed. Some places have the entire system on a backup. Others even go as far as a third backup, a megaphone.


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[cpf]

I believe our venue just skipped to step 3 :/

[DrPinto]

The auditorium pa system is completely separate from the school wide PA system, which is obviously backed up.

That's probably not true. Most school auditorium sound systems are overridden by the school's PA system. This is in case of an emergency, any announcement will be heard by the audience.

I remember one time in high school, a bunch of us couldn't understand why the sound system wouldn't work, even though everything lit up. It wasn't until we heard someone vacuuming through the house speakers did we figure it out. We went into the main office where the custodian was cleaning and found that someone placed something on the PTT bar on the PA mic that was sitting on the principal's desk. We were lucky that the custodian was using the vacuum.

[cpf]

That's probably not true. Most school auditorium sound systems are overridden by the school's PA system. This is in case of an emergency, any announcement will be heard by the audience.

YMMV though, as I've literally never been in a school or theatre-attached-to with this setup. Some just have the regular paging speakers in in the ceiling, some have no paging at all.

I just checked, and our PoE IP Phone system - hooked to a standard paging system - is all on backup. However, no paging speakers in the theatre itself.

[chausman]

YMMV though, as I've literally never been in a school or theatre-attached-to with this setup. Some just have the regular paging speakers in in the ceiling, some have no paging at all.

I just checked, and our PoE IP Phone system - hooked to a standard paging system - is all on backup. However, no paging speakers in the theatre itself.

In every HS venue I've been in, in Spokane (Which is most), every one had PA speakers in the house, and are probably on backups, but all had "overrides" in some way. Most have a few volume knobs, for the booth, the house, backstage, and the dressing rooms. Our venue is much simpler. A toggle switch on the SM panel, that shuts off all PA speakers in the theater, except for the booth, which has it's own switch. Part of our emergency plan is to flip those switches.

And, all of our paging and our PoE IP phones are also on a backup with phones in the theater office backstage and in the booth.

I don't believe any of our equipment racks are on backups, except 4 houselight circuits, but If it was needed, we can use the PA Intercom on the phone from the booth.

[Aman121]

That's probably not true. Most school auditorium sound systems are overridden by the school's PA system. This is in case of an emergency, any announcement will be heard by the audience.

I remember one time in high school, a bunch of us couldn't understand why the sound system wouldn't work, even though everything lit up. It wasn't until we heard someone vacuuming through the house speakers did we figure it out. We went into the main office where the custodian was cleaning and found that someone placed something on the PTT bar on the PA mic that was sitting on the principal's desk. We were lucky that the custodian was using the vacuum.

Actually, it is completly seperate. There are speakers backstage and in the house that are wired directly into the paging system. We cant shut them off.

[Tex]

YMMV though, as I've literally never been in a school or theatre-attached-to with this setup. Some just have the regular paging speakers in in the ceiling, some have no paging at all.

I just checked, and our PoE IP Phone system - hooked to a standard paging system - is all on backup. However, no paging speakers in the theatre itself.

This has been my experience as well.

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[museav]

Just be careful of the differences between paging, public address, emergency announcement/voice evacuation and fire alarm. The speakers used may look identical but the systems, including whether they are on emergency power, can be quite different. This is especially true with newer paging systems that may also be part of an emergency announcement/communication system. I have had projects where there are three or even four similar speakers in a ceiling associated with different systems.

Other than local UPS's that are provided specifically for digital mixers, DSP devices, computers, etc. that may not respond well to power drops or sudden loss of power, I rarely see dedicated house audio systems on emergency or backup power. That is primarily a cost factor and trying to avoid the emergency power system having to handle any loads that do not have to be on that system.

[DrPinto]

Actually, it is completly seperate. There are speakers backstage and in the house that are wired directly into the paging system. We cant shut them off.

Our PA announcements definitely came out of the house speakers. All the schools in my town had the same setup. Then again, they were all installed by the same contractor. I guess this isn't as common as I thought.