Admin l Thursday, May 05, 2022
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Danfoss Fire Safety, a member of the global Danfoss Group, will demonstrate the benefits of high-pressure water mist technology for fire protection in commercial and industrial buildings at the upcoming Firexpo South Africa 2022 trade show, focusing on a more intelligent, sustainable method of fire protection.
Firexpo 2022 will take place from 31 May to 02 June 2022 at Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg, and entrance for visitors is free of charge.
“While water has been used for centuries to combat fires, high-pressure water mist represents a breakthrough in fire fighting,” explains Lewis Oxley, Global Category Manager: Data Centres at Danfoss. “High-pressure water mist technology uses the same method as traditional sprinklers, but with the added effect of producing a high-level of atomisation. By atomising the water at high pressure, we are able to use the water in a far more efficient way.
“In fact, we can use less water and still be more effective than a traditional sprinkler system. High-pressure water mist has excellent fire suppression properties, including capture of smoke particles, strong reduction of radiant heat and rapid lowering of temperature..
“Consider the fire triangle: a fire is reliant on the presence of oxygen, heat and combustible material to survive. The removal of any one of these elements will extinguish the fire.
“A high-pressure water mist system takes away two points of the fire triangle, namely oxygen and heat. This means that the water mist combines the suppression effect of gas and traditional sprinkler systems by removing the oxygen (locally at the flame front), while also cooling the fire.
“At the same time, water damage is kept to a minimum due to the system’s low water consumptions. There is also no need to fill cylinders, and no requirement for extra installations,” Oxley adds.
Visitors to the Danfoss Firexpo stand (Hall 3, stand FB05) will have the opportunity to learn more about its SEM-SAFE high-pressure water mist system, which allows for quick, intelligent fire fighting for any building type, from modern high rises and hospitals to airports, universities and more.
“Data centres too are a critical area for fire protection. Here, we’ve found that gas and chemical-based options usually involve releasing chemicals over a large area, requiring the shutdown of ventilation, introduction of pressure relieve vents, and periodic room integrity tests. The disadvantages of using these systems, are large areas to store cylinders with high refill costs post discharge, as well as time-consuming clean-up operations, staff safety and downtime.
“The SEM-SAFE high-pressure water mist system is designed as pre-action giving more resilience than gas-based systems and is ready for use again immediately after discharge. Not only this, but the data centre can be kept up and running while the fire is being extinguished, and the system is harmless to people. There is no need to shut off ventilation before releasing the water mist, and a complete building can be protected with just one pump unit.”
The Danfoss SEM-SAFE system uses up to 80 percent less water than other water-based fire suppression/ extinguishing technologies.
Furthermore, Danfoss is the only high-pressure water mist manufacturer with 68°C rated data centre nozzles, which means data halls can be run at higher temperatures without the fear of false activation. This reduces the cooling demand in data centres and helps to minimise the energy consumption for cooling. There is also zero risk of oil contamination thanks to ultra-clean pump technology, with no requirement for oil.
Interested Firexpo visitors are invited to attend a presentation by Oxley, where he will cover the benefits of high-pressure water mist technology when it comes to the protection of people and equipment within the data centre. Oxley’s session will take place in the free-to-attend Securex seminar theatre on Tuesday 31 May 2022 at 13:30.
