Yusuf Muhammad, co-founder and chief design officer at Plumis, explains to PBC Today the benefits of using watermist suppression to protect modular homes
Plumis’ watermist suppression system Automist is a sprinkler alternative for active fire protection that is connected to multi-sensor detectors and is electronically triggered, helping to improve detection and activation times.
The wall-mounted sprayheads feature infra-red sensors that when triggered, scan the room to identify and locate a fire, before targeting it with a dense fog of watermist to suppress or extinguish the fire.
Who is currently using Automist?
Automist is already trusted in more than 10,000 homes. In addition to being ideal for offsite construction, our system is being used and retrofitted in traditionally built homes, private homes, social and sheltered housing schemes, as well as heritage buildings.
Why is Plumis’ watermist suppression system Automist ideal for modular homes?
The main benefit for factory-built homes is that the modular builder can do more in the factory – following relevant training – reducing the need and cost of specialist contractors.
Automist is a dry pipe system, so the pipes are not filled with pressurised water unless the system is activated. This means it can be connected on-site quickly and easily, and the risk of leaks is also reduced. As it draws just 5.6 litres per minute and one bar of pressure when in use, consuming less water than a power shower, it also removes uncertainty around water supply on site.
Water pressure for traditional suppression systems, on the other hand, has been reported to be sufficient at the time of installation but then negatively impacted overtime. For example, demand on the water supply, as a result of new nearby development, can lead to it becoming inadequate to operate the system and requiring costly water supply upgrades.
Our award-winning watermist suppression system meets the fire performance standards outlined in BS 8458 and can be used to meet Building Regulations or as an elective upgrade to improve fire protection.
What differences are there between using Automist and sprinklers to protect modular homes?
Most people are surprised to learn that fire sprinklers have remained fundamentally unchanged since their initial invention more than 100 years ago. Technological advancements have enabled manufacturers like us to design a contemporary system that can tackle certain fires more effectively.
Our pre-engineered modular solution, for example, has been shown to activate up to two minutes faster than a traditional sprinkler, limiting the build-up of heat and toxic smoke – the biggest killer in domestic fires.
From gas, oil and electrical fires, Automist can even tackle difficult concealed fires, as well as detect slow-growing, smouldering fires, long before they generate the heat required to activate a traditional frangible bulb sprinkler.
How is Automist installed?
Automist uses significantly less water, 10 times less in fact, than traditional fire suppression systems and connects to the normal domestic water supply, with no need for a tank or pump room – saving valuable space.
Connection on site is straightforward, as the system’s flexible hosing means joins between modules can be installed seamlessly.
What about after installation? Is Automist costly to maintain?
Similar to the installation, the system is actually really straightforward to maintain. Annual operational tests conducted on the system to review everything from detection to activation, are quick and simple – so overall, costs are reduced.
How can people find out more about Automist?
We’re always more than happy to talk through any questions people may have, so if anyone does have a project or development underway that they’d like to discuss, the best person to contact is Hadrian Garner.
*Please note: This is a commercial profile.Â
Hadrian Garner
Plumis
Tel: +44(0) 7709 941945
Twitter:Â @PlumisAutomist
LinkedIn: Plumis Ltd
