HFC-227ea

Fast acting fire suppression with HFC-227ea

Overview.

Fast acting fire suppression with HFC-227ea

HFC-227ea fire suppressant is widely accepted and respected around the world, with a history of protecting the world's most crucial and irreplaceable assets. It’s used in thousands of applications—including cultural property, data centers, and critical infrastructure—across more than 70 countries.

HFC-227ea gaseous fire suppression systems offer exceptionally fast fire protection, reaching design concentrations in ten seconds or less. They stop ordinary combustible, electrical, and flammable liquid fires before they cause significant damage, and are safe for use around people.

The ability to extinguish a fire within seconds means:

Less damage
Lower repair costs
Extra margin of safety for people
Less downtime and disruption of business

Trade Names.

FM-200, FE-227

Chemical Composition.

Chemical Name - Heptafluoropropane

Chemical Formula - CF3CHFCF3

Gas Specification.

The gas specification is usually confirmed with a certificate of conformity (COC) from the manufacturer. It’s also important to ensure each specification is maintained during the 10-year testing and a new COC is provided confirming each requirement below by your supplier for the new re-filled or re-tested agent.

Property	Specification Limits
Purity	99,6% mol/mol min.
Acidity	3 × 10–6 by mass, max.
Water Content	10 × 10–6 % by mass, max
Non-Volatile Residue	0,01% by mass, max.
Suspended matter or sediment	None visible

Physical Properties.

Property	Units	Value
Molecular mass	n/a	170
Boiling point at 1,013 bar (absolute)	°C	-16.4
Freezing point	°C	-127
Critical temperature	°C	101.7
Critical pressure	bar	29.26
Critical volume	cm3/mol	274
Critical density	kg/m3	573
Vapour pressure 20 °C	bar abs	3.9
Liquid density 20 °C	g/ml	1410
Saturated vapour density 20 °C	kg/m3	31.035
Specific volume of superheated vapour at 1,013 bar and 20 °C	m3/kg	0.1374

Design Concentrations.

Standard	Class A	Higher Hazard Class A / Class C	Class B
(BS) EN 15004	7.9%	8.5%	9.0%
NFPA 2001	6.7%	7.0%	8.7% (n-heptane)
APSAD	7.9%	N/A	Subject to hazard

Loael, Noael & Minimum Safety Precautions.

The below is based on the requirements of EN 15004 which is the most common design standard in the UK and other European areas.

Property	Value
No observed adverse effect level (NOAEL)	9.0%
Lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL)	10.5%

Concentration	Time delay device*	Automatic / Manual Switch**	Lock-off device***
Up to and including the NOAEL	Required	Not Required	Not Required
Above the NOAEL and up to the LOAEL	Required	Required	Not Required
LOAEL and above	Required	Required	Not Required

* Time delays are usually integrated within the main gas extinguishing panel to allow a 30 second delay before the system discharges. Hold off buttons are also usually located adjacent the exits of the enclosure.

** Automatic / Manual switches are usually integrated into the main gas extinguishing panel located at the entrance of the protected area.

*** Lock-Off devices are usually manual isolation valves installed within the pipework and again located at the entrance of the protected area.

HFC-227ea Quantity Calculation.

Typically, gaseous extinguishing systems are used for protecting electronic equipment in data rooms or similar, we have therefore prepared a quick calculation to help understand and estimate the quantity HFC-227ea agent required in your enclosure. The factor provided below is also based on a design temperature of 20°C and an altitude of 0, changes in either will have a small effect on the agent quantity.

Design Concentration = 8.5% (Higher Hazard Class A)

Flooding Factor = 0.6773

Volume of enclosure in M³ x Flooding Factor = Quantity required in KG

[Example assuming room volume of 150m³]

150 x 0.8253 = 101.595kg

For a calculation spreadsheet in excel format or for quantity calculations outside of these parameters, please contact us directly at hello@mepfire.com.

Typical Cylinder Fill Weights, Sizes, Pressures & Quantity Calculator.

HFC-227ea cylinders come in a variety of sizes depending on the manufacturer but below we have presented an example list of a manufacturer’s sizes.

As a general rule, cylinders can be filled to a maximum of 90% of their volume or a minimum of 40% of their volume in Kg.

	15 Litres	30 Litres	50 Litres	80 Litres	120 Litres	150 Litres	180 Litres
Maximum Fill	13.5kg	27.0kg	45.0kg	72.0kg	108.0kg	135.0kg	162.0kg
Minimum Fill	6.0kg	12.0kg	20.0kg	32.0kg	48.0kg	60.0kg	72.0kg

Typically, cylinders are pressurised to 25, 42 or 70 bar.

By using the quantity calculation above, and the maximum fill of each cylinder above, you can work out how many cylinders are typically required for your protected area.

Environmental Considerations.

HFC-227ea has a global warming potential of 3500 and an atmospheric lifetime of 33-36.5 years. HFC-227ea is also being phased out under the F-Gas Regulation which is why it’s use is becoming less and less common. However, its properties are favourable when compared with older agents such as Halon 1301.

Temperature Vs Pressure Graphics

Temperature graphs are useful for verifying the pressure or your cylinders and whether they need replacing in line with the recommendations of BS EN 15004 which advises:

Liquefied gases: for halocarbon agents, if a container shows a loss of agent in quantity of more than 5% or a loss of pressure (adjusted for temperature) of more than 10%, it shall be refilled or replaced.

Temperature/pressure graph for HFC-227ea at 25 bar @ 20°C

Temperature/pressure graph for HFC-227ea at 42 bar @ 20°C

FAQs.

How does HFC-227ea or FM200 work?

HFC-227ea works mainly by inhibiting the chain reaction on a molecular level by occupying the free radicals during combustion to a point where the reaction is no longer sustainable. This process is also assisted by some oxygen being displaced from the system discharge and the temperature of the gas on release helping cool the fire.
When will HFC-227ea or FM200 be phased out?

The phase down has taken a staged approach so there is no date to which the agent will be completely banned. The phase down aims to reduce the CO2 equivalent of all gasses in use to 21% of the baseline by 2030 and manufacturers of the new agent have been given declining quotas to reduce their output up until then.
Is HFC-227ea or FM200 dangerous to humans?

Although it is always recommended that any unnecessary exposure is avoided, no observed adverse effect levels (NOAEL) and Lowest observed adverse effect levels (LOAEL) are provided within BS EN 15004. Given that the design concentration is typically less then such limits for HFC-227ea and exposure times are kept to a minimum, the dangers are limited.
How do you calculate FM200 or HFC227ea quantity?

The quantity calculation can be found inside BS EN 15004 however it is usually embedded into a complex spreadsheet from suppliers, that is why we have kindly created a quick calculation tool in the section above to help you work out an estimated quantity.