Inert gas fire suppression for data centers
Inert-gas systems lower the oxygen in the hall below what a fire needs. Fifteen companies here sell them, from Fire Eater’s Inergen (52% nitrogen, 40% argon, 8% carbon dioxide) to NAFFCO’s IG-01, IG-100, IG-55 and IG-541 and Nohmi’s NN100 IG-100 nitrogen system. The selection questions are storage pressure, cylinder count, pipe run and discharge noise.
| Agents and products | Acoustic design | Approvals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fike | Manufacturer | SF 1230 Fire Protection Fluid offered as a one-to-one drop-in Novec 1230 replacement | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Fire Eater | — | Inergen: nitrogen 52%, argon 40%, carbon dioxide 8% | — | — | Hillerød, Denmark | 2026-11-11 |
| FOGTEC | Manufacturer and installer | — | — | — | Cologne, Germany | 2026-11-11 |
| Gielle Industries | Installer / service | IG-01, IG-100, IG-55 and IG-541 inert gases | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Janus Fire Systems | Manufacturer | FK-5-1-12, FM-200 and IG-100 inert-gas systems | — | — | Crown Point, Indiana, United States | 2026-11-11 |
| Johnson Controls (Ansul, Tyco, LPG) | Manufacturer and installer | SAPPHIRE and FM-200 halocarbon systems (LPG brand) | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Kidde Fire Systems (KiddeFenwal) | Manufacturer | NATURA inert gas, Fluoro-K and HFC-227ea clean agents | NATURA Acoustic Nozzles: below 110 dB over 500 Hz–10 kHz, measured at 1 m | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Minimax | Manufacturer | Oxeo inert gas and MX 1230 systems | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| NAFFCO | Manufacturer and installer | NAFFCO Inert offers IG-01, IG-100, IG-55 and IG-541 | — | Inert-gas suppression system UL listed and FM approved | Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, UAE | 2026-11-11 |
| Nohmi Bosai | Manufacturer and installer | NN100 IG-100 nitrogen gas suppression | PNQ/ZMQ series noise reduction nozzles | NN100 is UL listed | Tokyo, Japan | 2026-11-11 |
| Rotarex Firetec | Manufacturer | INEREX total-flooding inert gas and RX5112 FK-5-1-12 systems | — | INEREX product line supports VdS, UL and FM approved inert-gas systems | Lintgen, Luxembourg | 2026-11-11 |
| Scutum | — | — | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Siemens (Sinorix) | Manufacturer | Nitrogen and argon inert gases | Sinorix Silent Extinguishing Technology with SDNX silent nozzle | — | Zug, Switzerland | 2026-11-11 |
| Viking Group | Manufacturer | — | — | Data Center Upgradeable System is UL Listed | Michigan, USA | 2026-11-11 |
| WAGNER Group | Manufacturer | FirExting gas extinguishing with nitrogen | FirExting SILENT nozzle silencers for sensitive electronics | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
How inert-gas systems differ
How fields are readStorage pressure and cylinder size
NAFFCO and Gielle both list 200 or 300 bar storage (Gielle). NAFFCO offers 67, 80 and 140 litre cylinders with a regulated pressure of 60 bar. Higher pressure means fewer cylinders for the same hall.
A real reference
Fire Eater protects CSC’s Kajaani data center, home to the LUMI supercomputer, with 153 cylinders of Inergen and about 800 m of pipe, covering 5,700 m³.
Noise
Inert-gas discharge is loud, and several makers sell quiet nozzles: Wagner’s FirExting SILENT silencers, Siemens’ Sinorix Silent Extinguishing Technology and Nohmi’s PNQ/ZMQ nozzles. Kidde’s NATURA acoustic nozzles are below 110 dB over 500 Hz to 10 kHz at 1 m.
Prevention instead of discharge
Wagner’s OxyReduct generates nitrogen from ambient air to hold oxygen low all the time, rather than flooding the room after detection.
Prefer a halocarbon? See clean agent suppression. Want no gas at all? See water mist and preaction.