New report from the ''Green HVAC'' research project compares greenhouse gas emissions from fire suppression systems

The Green HVAC research project has recently published the report “Greenhouse Gas Assessment of Fire Suppression Systems”. The report was prepared by Multiconsult and compares greenhouse gas emissions from different automatic fire suppression systems in a typical office building of approximately 3,350 m² GFA, distributed over four floors.

The following solutions are assessed:

• Conventional sprinkler

• Optimized sprinkler

• Low-pressure water mist

• High-pressure water mist
  

All systems are designed in accordance with applicable standards and are assumed to provide equivalent fire suppression performance. Key findings from the report

Water demand: Water mist systems require significantly lower flow rates than sprinkler systems. Low-pressure water mist: approximately 220 l/min, compared to 700–880 l/min for sprinkler systems.

Material weight: Material weight/use is substantially lower for water mist systems. Low-pressure water mist: approximately 1.3 tonnes, compared to 5.8–9.8 tonnes for sprinkler solutions.

Greenhouse gas emissions: Low-pressure water mist shows the lowest life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 75% lower CO₂ emissions compared to conventional sprinkler systems, and nearly 60% lower than optimized sprinkler systems, for the studied office building. The report provides a solid technical basis for including greenhouse gas emissions as part of the decision-making process when selecting fire suppression systems. 👉 Read the full report here