Latin America. From a smoking circuit board, to the explosion in a switch, they can put at risk of electrical fire the data centers of companies, shopping centers and medical centers, among others. The loss of these tools is a growing concern among owners and operators of these facilities, so the electronic industries need a safe, profitable and above all, ecological solution.
For years, the problem has been finding a fire suppression system that effectively extinguishes not only a flame, but also protects electrical equipment and workers; systems that are not based on water and that keep the equipment protected and in perfect condition. Hybrid technologies, however, are not only focused on being solutions, but also demystify the idea that data centers cannot be properly protected by water even if the right technology is used.
Thanks to the new hybrid technology, with a mechanism that fuses gaseous systems and inert gas, with water mist systems; it is possible to reduce the amount of oxygen to prevent combustion and up to 97% the use of water, which allows the servers not to be damaged, thus reducing the need to replace them and stop operations. Due to the minimum amount of water used by this system (less than 1 liter per minute) its maintenance is simple and economical, highly friendly to the environment, is non-toxic and does not require the protected area to be hermetically sealed.
How does this hybrid technology, which uses nitrogen and a minimal presence of discharged water at high speed and at low pressure, affect the hard drives used in equipment today?
With this technology, nitrogen can be discharged with a low amount of water, suppressing fire without damaging equipment. The success of this suppression system lies in the combination at high speed and low pressure of nitrogen and water creating a homogeneous suspension of nitrogen and water droplets with diameters of less than 10 microns that penetrate through equipment and places, to extinguish the fire without leaving significant water residues. When the mixture enters, both nitrogen and water attack the fire simultaneously. Thus, nitrogen reduces the oxygen content in the environment to a level where it does not allow the expansion of fire and the ultra-fine mist of water mist creates a heat absorption surface 90 times greater than those generated by standard sprinklers. These features of the hybrid system attack two elements of the fire triangle, heat and oxygen.
According to Julio Herrera, fire protection expert at Victaulic, hybrid fire suppression systems are effective in extinguishing small fires and large fires. These systems effectively protect the electronics industries and data centers that today need a secure and cost-effective solution. Being a 100 percent green technology, it does not use any toxic chemicals and has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as having a global warming potential of zero.
