The questions we get most

A TPS sensor is not a detector in the usual sense. It has no battery, no supply and measures nothing — it reacts to heat and generates its own electrical pulse (0.5 A) that fires the modules. That is exactly why it is reliable: a fire usually takes the power down before it is fully developed, and a system that depends on a supply would fall silent at that moment.

When the temperature passes 72 °C and stays above it for more than 20 seconds. Those twenty seconds are the guard against false triggering — a brief spike is ignored. If the temperature jumps sharply to 150 °C or more, suppression fires immediately. Depending on placement, 93 and 110 °C sensors are also used, and 120 to 220 °C versions for furnaces and mines.

Yes. The powder is dry and environmentally sound, and harms neither people nor animals. That is the key difference from gas suppression, which is toxic and becomes a hazard in its own right in an occupied space. The system can therefore be used in a flat, an office or a production hall where people are present during a discharge.

No. The powder damages neither electronics nor antiques, which is why the system is used in heritage buildings, churches and server rooms. It is one of the main reasons it is chosen by operators for whom cleaning up after water suppression would cost more than the fire itself.

Vacuum or sweep up the powder and replace the cartridge. No drying out, no remediation, no specialist clean-up contractor. With suppression lamps recessed into plasterboard, only the cartridge changes and the ceiling stays untouched — which is why we recommend recessing them at least 50 %.

Twelve years of guaranteed service life. The modules are non-pressurised and 100 % maintenance-free, so there is nothing to refill and no gauge to read. The condition of the twelve-year guarantee is regular inspection — once a year for suppression lamps.

Once a year for suppression lamps in the home. In industry we come every six months — not because the system needs maintenance, but because the environment is harsher. A conveyor tower facing frost, wind and rain around the clock is a different case from a living room.

Yes — it suppresses electrical equipment and transformers up to 40,000 V without damaging them. It covers switchboards, breakers, servers and BTS sites. This is where the gap against water is widest: at Aupark in 2016 the water suppression destroyed the building-wide CCTV system for nearly three months and flooded the shops one floor below.

Classes A, B, C and E — solids, liquids, gases and live electrical equipment. A single system covers all four, which in a plant where cabling, oil and granulate meet in one place is more practical than combining three different technologies.

From −65 to +125 °C, indoors and out. That is why it is used in unheated halls, on conveyor towers exposed to frost and on rail machines. Water mains would freeze in those conditions. For environments where normal working temperature is higher — furnaces, mines — the TPS-02 and TPS-03 sensors cover a 120 to 220 °C range.

It depends on area, volume and fire class. An MPH-2 covers 25 m² and 38 m³ in class A; an MPH-6 covers 50 m² and 150 m³; an MPH-24 covers 75 m² and 250 m³. Class B figures are lower — with liquids what matters is the spill area. The shape of the space matters too: in a room with a large table, a sofa or a bookcase, obstacles cast shadows and you need two discharge points instead of one.

One TPS sensor triggers up to 16 MPH modules. A typical zone uses 1 to 6. A sensor with a signalling channel (TPS-01C, TPS-01TC) also closes the alarm circuit — an alarm plus a GSM module that texts designated numbers.

Yes — that is what the transport (T) version in red is for: MPH-2.8T, MPH-5T, MPH-24T. It has anti-vibration compensating pads and added resistance to gases, acidic atmospheres and high temperatures. Mines use the "SuperSeal" connector, which rules out any contact between the environment and the electrics on activation. The MPH-2.8T can carry a discharge director — the module stands at a safe distance while the powder is delivered into the engine compartment of a lorry, locomotive or drilling rig.

Yes — the version with a built-in sensor is designed for it. It recesses at least 50 %, for a practical reason: after a discharge only the cartridge is replaced and the ceiling need not be opened up. For voids above plasterboard where drilling is impossible, there is the APPS MPH-5T — it is simply set in place, with no fixing, and discharges horizontally so there is no recoil.

An authorised SAPFIR technician replaces a suppression lamp in about 30 minutes. A three-room flat typically needs 3 to 6 systems, so three to five hours. In industry it depends on the number of zones, the anchoring above the technology and the tie-in to the alarm circuit — we agree the schedule after a site visit.

Gas suppression is toxic and becomes a hazard in its own right in an occupied space. It also has limits — at Nidec the gas system failed to put the furnace out and was destroyed with it; Škoda Auto came to SAPFIR after a bad experience with gas in the engine shop. Water and foam destroy electronics and freeze in cold weather. Powder damages neither electronics nor antiques, harms no one, and is vacuumed up afterwards.