Disasters in the data centers are quite evident – one of the crucial being fire. To protect the centers from the risks of downtime, organizations invest a huge amount in deploying requisite equipment. Fire suppression systems are highly used for server rooms as it is a self-executing system that extinguishes the fire by itself without any human interference. So, this system acts well before in protecting your infrastructure from turning into ashes.
Fire suppression for server rooms are designed with utmost care and is processed under strict guidelines, as the extinguisher agents can be extremely dangerous if designed wrong. Basically, there are two different approaches of fire suppression used within these types of environment.
Inert Gas Suppression System for data centers
The role of inert gas is to reduce oxygen level to an extent where it will neither affect the servers nor the personnel. It uses one or more green gasses that include nitrogen, argon, or helium which is breathable, further maintaining a safe environment around. Designing the system to achieve precise concentration is difficult, and not take away too much oxygen from the room. Similarly, it is essential to vent gasses as it moves the air volume in the hazard zone.
Synthetic Gas Suppression System for data centers
Generally, synthetic fire suppression systems involve some sort of cooling mechanism and is widely considered as a substitute to Halon 1301. When compared with inert fire suppression, this system uses less gas and do not deplete oxygen levels highly from the environment. These cylinders are larger than inert gas cylinders and it takes just 10 seconds to deliver its payload. As a matter of fact, these are synthetic gasses, and using them in high amounts can be toxic, thus demanding accurate system designs.
Fire Suppression Requisites for data centers
- Fire alarm control panel
- Audible alarms
- Warning Signs
- Smoke Detection
- Pressure Reliefs
Above mentioned are some of the many fire suppression measures, however, there are several other options you can choose for your data centers such as water-based solutions, Halon replacement gas agents and more.