In our last post we looked at the news that Du-Pont was increasing the price of FM200 and as it turned out it was a very substantial rise approximately 40% per Kg! Although this came a bit of a shock for the industry (me included), as prices have been decreasing over the years, what practical effect has this had?
Cost Analysis
Well although the cost of FM200 has gone up 40% it hasn’t had quite the impact of pricing itself out of the market yet. All designs we have looked at comparing the cost of the Fire Suppression Agents it still is cheaper than the alternatives of Inert Gas (IG55 & IG541) and Novec 1230, although there isn’t a massive amount of difference especially with inert gas.
As an example, the last design we did which showed all three products Inert Gas was still 10% more expensive than FM200 and Novec 1230 a massive 22% more!! Although this can alter from design to design it looks like Du Pont won’t be dropping the price too quickly.
Although we are in a competitive world, cost isn’t always the answer. There are many advantages and disadvantages to all the Fire Suppression Agents and care should be taken to ensure lower installation costs don’t turn into higher on going costs.
As a brief overview of the three main products we use in commercial Fire Suppression Applications such as server rooms, data halls and switch gear rooms please see below for some of the main advantages and disadvantages. If you would like to know more on a particular product then click the product name or contact us directly.
Product Analysis
There are many advantages and disadvantages for all three products, but the main ones are:
Advantages
- Readily Available
- Efficient Storage (stored as a liquid)
- Tried and Tested
Disadvantages
- The least environmentally friendly of the three
- Comes under “F Gas” Regulations
- Cylinders usually need to be distributed throughout the room
Advantages
- Cylinders can be located away from the room
- The ultimate environmental product
- Multiple rooms can be protected by one bank of cylinders
Disadvantages
- Requires many more cylinders than FM200 or Novec 1230
- Always requires Over Pressure Vents
- Requires more nozzles
Advantages
- Better environmental credentials than FM200
- Requires less cylinders than Inert Gas
- Requires less nozzles
Disadvantages
- Requires larger pipework than FM200
- Cylinder must be located very close to the room
- Requires more agent than FM200
There are of course many other advantages and disadvantages but these are just a few. We find that many clients already have a pre-conceived idea of what each product does based on what the last company they spoke to wanted to sell them!
At Active Fire Suppression Ltd we like to give a complete picture to ensure you get the best solution to your problem
If you want more information then contact us directly, by phone or e-mail.
I work as an electrical engineer in a data center.
Please help me with a detailed technical comparison between FM200 and Novec
I work as an MECHANICAL engineer in SAFTY AND SECURITY SYSTEM.
Please help me KNOWN HOW CAN I CAN DESIGNE FM200
Sir; For battery room and server room where human occupancy is less, we are proposing FM200 System as we feel that it will have more advantages over Inert Gas. Is this assumption right ? Kindly advice
Hi,
Actually I was wondering what are exactly the bad effects of FM200 on environment and why do we consider Novec1320 more environmentally friendly them him.
To learn how to maintain or carry out maintenance on FM200 in our establisher.
Thanks
Ben Okon
Kindly provide me with technical resposes to the following related to NOVE 1230
1-Novec 1230 is characterized by high chemical reactivity.
2-Contact of Novec 1230 with water or solvents either polar or hydrocarbon could render Novec 1230 fluid ineffective.
3-The transfer of Novec 1230 requires the use of a drier because “humid air may cause the agent to convert to acid”.
4-Novec 1230 is chemically reactive with other fire extinguishing agents, e.g., it has been reported that Novec 1230 undergoes reaction with sodium bicarbonate. The reaction of Novec 1230 with water produces HFC-227ea and Perfluoropropionic acid, a strong, corrosive organic acid.
5-Due to its high reactivity, Novec 1230 is the only clean agent that is classified as a volatile organic compound.
6-Novec 1230 undergoes reaction in the lungs. Novec 1230 reacts to form HFC-227ea and Perfluoropropionic acid when it crosses the lung-air interface.
7-Novec 1230 is a high boiling liquid (bp = 49 C). This increases the possibility of a liquid discharge with Novec 1230 compared to the other clean agents and also affects its performance.
Thanks