Housing Digital Innovation Awards Finalists
The Housing Digital Innovation Awards recognise and celebrate the wealth of innovation that has taken place within housing in the previous year. We are pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Best Fire Safety award category.
Background to the iMist system
The use of water mist as a method of fire suppression in domestic and residential settings is a relatively new concept, meaning it constantly calls for new approaches and engineering solutions. Getting the right balance between the size of the droplet and the amount of water flow is critical to the success of the system. Unlike traditional sprinkler systems, the water droplets discharged by an iMist system act to attack all sides of the fire triangle. They are effective in doing so because they are 1,000 times smaller than average sprinkler droplets and the same volume of water covers one million times the surface area. This also allows the system to use 80% less water.
Why have we been shortlisted for the Housing Digital Innovation Awards and considered for the Best Fire Safety Category?
Our in-house research and development team have been working to develop a new nozzle, which has proven effective in testing, with a reliable activation time and success in suppressing fires, making it BC 8458 compliant. The mist element of the system works to suppress any airborne gas particles which could pose a threat to life. Combining these unique features with:
- The compactness of the pump
- Flexible pipework – making it easy to retro
- Our system runs off the mains – no need for a water tank
The manufacturing of the nozzle uses the latest in auto cad design and five-axis CNC technology to produce the nozzles quickly with a high degree of engineering required to ensure that the nozzle can cope with the demands of metal-on-metal (ensuring no leaks). We have also developed our own flow switch to detect the flow of water. This has been designed to adapt to detect high fluctuations in water flow and changes in pressure, to allow for normal fluctuations by the waterboard to occur without the risk of activation.
Why is it important to keep innovating?
Working in the fire safety sector, we have a responsibility to protect property and lives. Traditional fire sprinkler systems have been an effective solution thus far, but new technologies have emerged, and it is important to leverage these to develop systems that will not only suppress a fire but will save lives, save property and save water.
This level of innovation allows for more buildings, belongings, and people to be protected whilst using a minimal amount of water with maximum impact.
Continual innovation in the areas of design, engineering, and sustainability will mean greater protection and more cost-effective solutions while leaving a lower carbon footprint.
Visit our awards page for more information on iMist awards.
