Data Centre Fire Detection & Bus-Duct Monitoring

Keep your data safe and stay ahead of the flame.

Data centres have become critical infrastructure for our modern society. When information needs to flow seamlessly, early fire detection is paramount to ensuring the safety and security of your facility.

Our state-of-the-art fibre optic Distributed Technology System (DTS) {Link to Fire Detection page} is the proactive solution you need to protect your data centre from potential disasters.

The critical importance of data centre protection

Data centres manage vast amounts of sensitive information.

In Australia, there are over 300 data centres. Over the last decade data centre and cloud storage growth in Australia has accelerated with global businesses like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud setting up local hosting locations in Australia.

Data centres demand high power consumption in daily operations. This requires bus ducts for electricity distribution. Compact, sandwiched bus ducts are a popular method of energy distribution to save up space and handle a capacity of up to 6000A.

High temperatures within these bus ducts can be a challenge to the overall safety of data centre operations as a fire within a data centre can have dire consequences for businesses. The data hosted is essential to a customer’s operation and a fire disruption or false alarm can be extremely costly.

Our fibre optic data centre fire detection system acts as your guardian, swiftly identifying potential threats before they escalate.

Data centre fire detection, Advanced Photonics Australia

Rising above to protect your data assets

Traditional fire detection methods [thermal cameras, infrared point detectors, smoke detectors] may falter in the face of the unique challenges posed by data centre environments. Failure in these detection systems can trigger fire suppression chemical agents which can destroy assets.

Data centre fire detection, Advanced Photonics Australia

Overheated bus ducts or failure in cooling systems, may reduce the life of the asset.

Our data centre bus duct monitoring system can provide early detection of overheating providing a reliable risk management solution to protect people and assets.

The cable installation is also simple and cost-effective: fitted securely in the outer enclosure of the bus duct, utilising mounting clamps.

Other benefits of our data centre fire detection system include:

  • Real-time monitoring and fault location to protect lives, operations and assets
  • The capability to identify risks in up to 256 zones along the length of the sensor fibre. Each with the appropriate alarm criterion.
  • Temperature ranges from -40°C to +150°C for bus duct fault monitoring
  • Maintenance-free solution
  • Our system integrates seamlessly with the Data Centre’s Building management system, allowing you to visualise your unique data centre and safety plan

  • Immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), due to the use of fibre optics
  • Customisable alarms per zone and different operating conditions

In a recent event where a fire was prevented in a data centre due to our early warning technology, the client estimated a potential loss of $20 million if they did not have the system in place.

Data centre fire detection, Advanced Photonics Australia
Data centre fire detection, Advanced Photonics Australia

Problem

A cloud computing provider required a continuous busway monitoring solution for their production data centre. This data centre had corridors, rooms and white space fitted with raised floors. They wanted to streamline the daily maintenance process whilst ensuring optimal risk and safety assurance.

Solution

Addressing fire safety concerns, our solution included a single DTS device equipped with dual channels, complemented by a specialised sensor cable. This setup ensured continuous 24/7 monitoring of hot spots and precise localisation along the busway, with accuracy within a one-meter range.

Maintenance alerts were seamlessly integrated, utilising built-in, local hardwired relay contacts directed to designated monitoring points. This proactive approach facilitated preventative maintenance and enabled swift emergency response

A real-world example from our partners at AP Sensing