Extinguishing with water mist

Water mist is an automatic extinguishing system that diffuses very fine droplets of water to bring fire under control. This solution is economical, easy to install and effective on IT equipment, electronics and car parks.

A cost-effective solution to protect your IT, electronic and car park facilities

How water mist works

Acting on the fire triangle

His role

The role of water fog is to fight a fire by acting on three mechanisms:

  • Suppression by depleting the environment of oxygen with the vaporisation of water.
  • Cooling of flames and fuel to limit damage to people and property.
  • Mitigation of thermal radiation to weaken fire energy and contain its spread.

 

From water reserve to fog

How it works

A water mist extinguishing system is made up of the following components:

  • A control station that monitors the installation in standby mode and triggers the mechanism in the event of a fire alarm
  • Water reserves
  • A pump (single-fluid process) or a gas compressor (by-fluid process) in charge of pressurising the water and sending the liquid via the piping to the nozzles.
  • Nozzles installed in the area to be covered that propel the water in small droplets. There are two types of nozzles: open nozzles (deluge type) and closed nozzles with a heat-sensitive bulb for pre-action or underwater installations.

An effective solution for several types of fire

Contrary to what you might think, the extinguishing agent in this solution is not water but fog. Depending on how it is generated and the fineness of the droplets, different properties and uses are obtained.

Fog can be classified into three categories (Class I, II and III). Each category corresponds to a droplet size and must be adapted to the type of fuel (solid or gaseous), the height at which the nozzles are installed and the degree of containment of the room to be protected.

Classes I and II are therefore better suited to flammable liquid fires. Class III is reserved for fires involving solid fuels.

An economical and harmless solution

The benefits

In addition to being an effective solution in the event of fire, this protection system offers a number of advantages:

  • Economical (use of small quantities of water compared with a sprinkler-type water extinguisher)
  • Simple to implement
  • Harmless to humans
  • Environmentally friendly

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Protect a volume as well as an object

Water mist technology is compatible with all types of Class A, B, C and F fires (fires produced by “”dry”” materials such as wood, liquid fires, gas fires and oil or grease fires), with the exception of metal fires.

Historically used on boats, this extinguishing solution is now growing very rapidly in public buildings, the tertiary and industrial sectors.

    • Electrical and computer rooms, data centres
    • Archiving and storage rooms
    • Hydraulic or thermal machinery: generator sets, combustion turbines, etc.
    • Cable tunnels
    • Technical premises
    • Hotel rooms, offices and libraries
    • Parking with electric cars
    • Industry and agrifood
    • In public buildings and high-rise buildings as compensatory measures

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* Water mist extinguishing has a wide range of applications. The system can cover the protection of both a volume and an object.

Water mist extinguishing in action

Water mist technology is part of a more global approach to fire safety. Watch our video to find out how all our expertise interacts to ensure the safety of property, people and buildings.

There are various standards to guarantee the reliability and effectiveness of water mist systems against fires:

  • The European standard NF 14 972 imposes installation, maintenance and fire testing guidelines.
  • The European standard NF EN 17 450 is dedicated to regulations relating to products and components.
  • On the French market, the APSAD R2 standard defines the minimum requirements for installation, maintenance and reliability.
  • At the international level, the American standard NFPA 750 is the benchmark.

3 mandatory steps for a complete solution

The water mist extinguishing solution must meet a very specific need. That’s why it’s installed in three stages, including a technical study, installation and maintenance.

  • Audit or design study

    For a new installation: design study, analysis and consideration of site constraints, drafting of specific technical specifications.
    For an improvement or compliance project: compulsory audit based on a standard (APSAD or NFPA) with identification of risks and specific constraints, performance tests. Drafting of an audit report.

  • Installation and commissioning

    On-site system installation. Hydrostatic and real-life tests. Staff training. Commissioning.

  • Maintenance

    Preventive and corrective maintenance to be carried out by an approved company. Mandatory maintenance report to be submitted.

Profog, your DEF Network water mist expert

Profog has been working with you for over 25 years on automatic water-mist extinguishing solutions. Our multi-disciplinary teams have the best skills to offer you a complete package with rapid, compliant commissioning and specific maintenance support.

Profog prefabricates the solution (pumps and piping) in its workshops before sending it to site for installation. This makes it possible to tailor the equipment to the constraints of each site, saving considerable time and facilitating commissioning.

Profog

France

Expert en solutions d’extinction par brouillard d’eau - Tel (+33) 2 40 66 60 20

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