Fire Protection Systems for Electrical Substations and Generator Enclosures

Fire Protection Systems for Electrical Substations and Generator Enclosures

In most cases, electrical substations and generator enclosures tend to be unloved and forgotten about unmanned spaces on site. They are sometimes remote from the main building, and may even be inaccessible to the occupier, as they are often owned by a facility provider, landlord or even the utility company – and so when it comes to fire suppression, it is quite a difficult subject to tackle.

The rooms are typically integrally very poor. This can be down to the lack of requirement for decoration and fire stopping, the passing in and out of large amounts of big diameter cable, cable trays and containment, ventilation for engines or cooling issues and suchlike – not to mention underground ducts and trenches for the passing of cables. Good room integrity can be quite troublesome and expensive to achieve, making full flood gas suppression difficult.

See more: A Beginner’s Guide to Room Integrity Testing

Traditionally, CO₂ systems are used as the fire protection system, but they have a requirement for much better room integrity when installed. This is because CO₂ is a noxious gas and will seriously harm – maybe fatally – if anyone is inside the space when it discharges.

So what is the solution? Ideally a system that is not dependent upon the room’s integrity, which is safe to be inhabited during a discharge, and will not damage the equipment if the system discharges. Enter condensed aerosol fire suppression systems…

Condensed Aerosol Fire Suppression Systems

Sovereign Extinguishing are very proud to be associated with FirePro, manufacturers of fire suppression condensed aerosol units perfect for rooms with poor integrity. In fact, they have worked on many room installations like this – The Royal Free – Hadley Wood Hospital, for example.

FirePro produces a mist when discharged, NOT a gas. Therefore it is not dependent on the room integrity, and there is very little pressure change in the space when it discharges, which is ideal for rooms with poor integrity.

It works in a very similar way to gas suppression, requiring a “double knock” detection system that needs both a smoke and heat detection in the space before it discharges.

Learn More with Sovereign Extinguishing

This is another example where Sovereign Extinguishing are looking at utilising different technologies to solve particular customer’s issues and site based challenges.

To find out more about condensed aerosol fire suppression systems and how the team at Sovereign Extinguishing can help to protect electrical substations and generator enclosures, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today. We are the UK’s leading experts in fire extinguishing installations and servicing, and are supported by some of the world’s biggest brands.

See more: What is a Condensed Aerosol Fire Suppression System?