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Fire Suppression System - Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid
3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid is a clean agent fire extinguishant which was developed as a halon extinguisher replacement and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) alternative. It belongs to a family of chemicals called halocarbons, a group which includes HFCs and fluoroketones. Novec 1230 fire protection fluid is a fluoroketone, while chemical clean agents like FM-200™ and ECARO-25® are HFCs (HFC-227ea, HFC-125). Fire suppression system using Novec 1230 has a global warming potential (GWP) of less than one while these HFCs have a GWP of more than 3000. Novec 1230 fluid has the highest margin of safety for human occupancy among clean agents, including inert gas.
with 3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire
Protection Fluid
Clean agent fire suppression designed for the future
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When you specify a fire protection system, your choices can determine whether a person, valuable asset or even an entire business survives a fire. When that system uses Novec 1230 fire protection fluid, you may confidently offer your client a solution that:
- Extinguishes a fire in seconds, before it even starts and long before water-based systems discharge.
- Helps protect irreplaceable paper documents and electronics. Because Novec 1230 fluid is a waterless fire suppression system, it leaves no residue and is electrically non-conductive.
- Provides the highest margin of safety for human occupancy of any clean agent fire extinguisher solution.
- Is not subject to the Halon 1301 phaseout or HFC phasedown under any global regulatory body, including the Montreal Protocol.
- Comes with a global environmental warranty — the 3M™ Blue Sky℠ Warranty, designed to provide additional peace of mind.
- Is stored as a liquid and discharged as a gas.
- Is appropriate for Class A, B and C fire hazards.
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How does Novec 1230 fire protection fluid work?
Novec 1230 fire protection fluid extinguishes a fire before it starts by rapidly removing heat. In a typical total flooding system, the fluid is stored as a liquid in cylinders pressurized with nitrogen. Automatic detection sensors trigger release when the fire is at the incipient stage, extinguishing it in mere seconds.
Novec 1230 fluid evaporates 50 times faster than water. In fact, you could soak a paperback book in a bath of Novec 1230 fluid and within a minute, pick it up and read where you left off.
In this video, you’ll see a controlled test of a fire in a simulated data center. Watch to compare the performance of Novec 1230 fire extinguishant to a water sprinkler system.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Learn more about clean agent fire suppression using Novec 1230 at a glance — get answers to typical questions and see why specifiers call it a clean agent with no known equal.
Comparing fire protection solutions
Novec 1230 fluid offers unparalleled value, whether you’re looking to:
- Replace a halon fire suppression system
- Find an environmentally sustainable and cost comparable alternative to FM-200™, ECARO-25® or other HFCs
- Select a clean agent fire suppression system with a high margin of safety for occupied spaces
See at a glance how it compares to other common fire suppression systems for performance, safety, sustainability and design flexibility.
Or compare in-depth against HFCs, inert gases, water and CO₂.
*If you are viewing via mobile device, please switch to landscape view to view the full table.
| Novec 1230 | FE-25 (HFC-125) |
FM-200 (HFC-227) |
Inergen (IG-541) |
Water Mist | Water Sprinkler | Aerosol | CO2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance | ||||||||
| Designed to extinguish fires | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Leaves no residue | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Electrically non-conductive | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Minimal clean up | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| May release on smoke detection | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Sustainability | ||||||||
| <1 Global Warning Potential | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | N/A | ✔ | |||
| Short atmospheric lifetime | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Safety | ||||||||
| Safety margin >50% over design concentration (for typical Class A and C hazards) |
✔ | N/A | N/A | Lethal | ||||
| Design Flexibility | ||||||||
| Room overpressure venting not required | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Sealed room required | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Minimal space requirements | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
Each specification for a fire suppression system using Novec 1230 fluid reflects the unique circumstances of the application as well as each client’s special considerations, such as sustainability, occupant safety or protecting delicate assets such as hard drives.
Quickly and easily build a specification that meets your client’s needs with our Build a Spec tool.
We have worked with our approved original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to optimise Novec 1230 fluid’s performance in their listed or approved systems.
Featured resources and tools
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Novec 1230 fire suppression system fluid brochureDownload brochure (PDF, 1.32 MB)Novec 1230 Fluid Technical Data SheetDownload Technical Data Sheet (PDF, 339 KB)Novec YouTube channel
3M™ Blue Sky℠ Warranty
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Establish your environmental legacy — guaranteed. Because we intentionally developed 3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid with sustainability in mind, we are able to offer the industry’s first-of-its-kind global environmental warranty — the 3M™ Blue Sky℠ Warranty. If Novec 1230 fluid is banned from or restricted in use as a fire protection agent within 20 years after installation due to its Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) or Global Warming Potential (GWP), we’ll refund the purchase price of the fluid. Read the full Terms & Conditions (PDF, 222.52 KB) for details.
Let us answer your fire suppression questions
Turn to our team of engineers and experts to answer your questions and give you the support you need regarding fire suppression system design, installation, and Novec 1230 fluid.
