Choosing A Fire Supression System

When you choose a fire suppression system for your home, there are at least three key features that you have to look at. You have to consider how your system will detect the fire, how it will activate, and what medium it will use to suppress the fire. There is more than one option when it comes to each of these areas and the choices you make will affect how effective your system is. 

Detection

Most people are familiar with smoke detectors, but picking up on smoke trails is not the only way to detect a fire. Some detection systems will pick up on excessive heat rather than on smoke. The detection system you use should depend on the types of materials you will be protecting. If you have a material that will produce a lot of smoke, then smoke detection should be just fine. On the other hand, if you have a material that tends to smolder or otherwise not produce a lot of smoke, then you want something that will pick up on heat. 

Actuation

The fire detector in a home trips a switch which sounds an alarm when it detects fire. In a fire suppression system, the detector trips a switch to turn on the fire suppression system. In most cases, the switch in the detector turns on a pump, which moves the fire suppression agent to where it is needed. 

Suppression Agents

Possibly the most critical component of a fire suppressions system is the agent used to suppress the fire. Many systems use water as the suppression agent, but water has limitations. For one, water is a conductor, so it will do nothing to put out an electrical fire. For another, water is a liquid, so it will cause a lot of damage to property. Thus, if you have a lot of sensitive equipment, you may not want to use water. There are various gases and compounds that you can use, and you will want to talk to a fire suppression professional to decide which suppression agent will work for your needs. 

In order to make sure that your fire suppression system works the way it is supposed to, you have to study out your situation, and then choose each component of your system carefully. If you feel like you are in over your head, you need to know when to throw in the towel. Calling a professional to review the situation and design a system is the best way to make sure it will work the way it is supposed to.