How to Enable Shelter-in-Place (SIP)

The Shelter-in-Place (SIP) feature enables you to turn HVAC systems off or to restrict outside ventilation in emergency situations where chemical, biological or radiological contaminants may be released into the environment in such a quantity or proximity to a place that it is safer to remain indoors.

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How to Prepare for a Shelter-in-Place Event

Action items prior to a Shelter-in-Place event must be addressed. Since an event is unpredictable, it is best to perform a routine maintenance check that all of your building’s HVAC equipment is functioning properly.

Since an event is unpredictable, it is best to perform a routine maintenance to check that all of your building’s HVAC equipment is functioning properly. Listed below are action items prior to a Shelter-in-Place event that must be addressed.

  1. Have a specific building plan outlining actions to take during a shelter-in-place event.
  2. Identify the individual(s) who know how the building’s HVAC systems work and have protocol for shutting down those systems to prevent hazardous outside air from entering the building.
  3. Check that all HVAC equipment (i.e., dampers, actuators, compressors, heat pumps, etc.) are functioning as they should. Mechanical failures are the number one reason that prevent your HVAC system from performing as expected during a Shelter-in-Place event.
  4. Verify that all of your Pelican devices are working properly and controlling the mechanical equipment, including HVAC units that have a Pelican Wireless Pearl Economizer and a third-party actuator for damper control.
  5. Perform a Shelter-in-Place practice drill to prepare for a real Shelter-in-Place event.
Important: If you have HVAC units not controlled by Pelican. You will need to address these units independent of the Pelican system by manually turning these units off and closing outside dampers.

How to Use the Shelter-in-Place Features

Pelican has integrated a Shelter-in-Place feature in the Pelican Web App that enables our customers to either turn outside ventilation off, or to shut down the HVAC system entirely in case of an emergency. Read carefully the two options to determine when and how to use these features.

Option 1 – Set All Thermostats to OFF: This option will turn off all HVAC systems and disable all schedules during the event.

Option 2 – Prevent Outside Ventilation: This option prevents poor quality outside air from entering the building. Dampers will remain fully closed disabling damper minimum positions and demand ventilation and economizer functionality.

Tip: If you have rooftop units with a static open intake, Option 1 is a better choice to prevent hazardous air from being circulated throughout the building.

Set All Thermostats to OFF

  1. Navigate to the Shelter-in-Place option by selecting Admin > Shelter-in-Place.
  2. Select Set all Thermostats to Off.
  3. Select Confirm.
  4. Shelter-in-Place is now Active.

Prevent Outside Ventilation

  1. Navigate to the Shelter-in-Place option by selecting Admin > Shelter-in-Place.
  2. Select Prevent Outside Ventilation.
  3. Select Confirm.
  4. Prevent Outside Ventilation is Active.

Confirm Site Status

When Shelter-in-Place is active, the System is turned Off, the Outside Ventilation is set to Off, the Front Keypad is Locked, and Schedule is set to Off. Confirm that Shelter-in-Place is functioning properly by navigating to the home menu and you will see confirmation of the feature status.

When Outside Ventilation is active, the Outside Ventilation is set to Off. This option will keep the HVAC system running, but will restrict outside air from entering the building when using a Pelican PEARL economizer. Navigate back to the home menu and you will see confirmation of the feature status.

Shelter-in-Place mode, when active, can be identified from your MySites. A Shelter-in-Place icon can be located on the site button.

Restore Site to Normal Status

  1. Navigate to the Shelter-in-Place option by selecting Admin > Shelter-in-Place.
  2. Select Return to Normal Settings to return to original settings and schedules for both Shelter-in-Place and Prevent Outside Ventilation.
  3. Select Confirm.
  4. Restoring the Pelican Web App may take a few minutes for all Pelican devices to restore to their original state. Once this process is complete, this button will be removed from your Pelican Web-App home menu.