In our last post we looked at the news that Du-Pont was increasing the price of FM200 and as it turned out it was a very substantial rise approximately 40% per Kg! Although this came a bit of a shock for the industry (me included), as prices have been decreasing over the years, what practical effect has this had?

Cost Analysis

Well although the cost of FM200 has gone up 40% it hasn’t had quite the impact of pricing itself out of the market yet. All designs we have looked at comparing the cost of the Fire Suppression Agents it still is cheaper than the alternatives of Inert Gas (IG55 & IG541) and Novec 1230, although there isn’t a massive amount of difference especially with inert gas.

As an example, the last design we did which showed all three products Inert Gas was still 10% more expensive than FM200 and Novec 1230 a massive 22% more!! Although this can alter from design to design it looks like Du Pont won’t be dropping the price too quickly.

Although we are in a competitive world, cost isn’t always the answer. There are many advantages and disadvantages to all the Fire Suppression Agents and care should be taken to ensure lower installation costs don’t turn into higher on going costs.

As a brief overview of the three main products we use in commercial Fire Suppression Applications such as server rooms, data halls and switch gear rooms please see below for some of the main advantages and disadvantages. If you would like to know more on a particular product then click the product name or contact us directly.

Product Analysis

There are many advantages and disadvantages for all three products, but the main ones are:

FM200

Advantages

  • Readily Available
  • Efficient Storage (stored as a liquid)
  • Tried and Tested

Disadvantages

  • The least environmentally friendly of the three
  • Comes under “F Gas” Regulations
  • Cylinders usually need to be distributed throughout the room

Inert Gas (ProInert)

Advantages

  • Cylinders can be located away from the room
  • The ultimate environmental product
  • Multiple rooms can be protected by one bank of cylinders

Disadvantages

  • Requires many more cylinders than FM200 or Novec 1230
  • Always requires Over Pressure Vents
  • Requires more nozzles

Novec 1230

Advantages

  • Better environmental credentials than FM200
  • Requires less cylinders than Inert Gas
  • Requires less nozzles

Disadvantages

  • Requires larger pipework than FM200
  • Cylinder must be located very close to the room
  • Requires more agent than FM200

There are of course many other advantages and disadvantages but these are just a few. We find that many clients already have a pre-conceived idea of what each product does based on what the last company they spoke to wanted to sell them!

At Concept Fire Suppression we like to give a complete picture to ensure you get the best solution to your problem

If you want more information then contact us directly, by phone or e-mail.