Novec 1230 (FK-5-1-12) clean agent systems, supplied and installed in Lebanon.
The clean agent to specify when the room is occupied and the environmental cost matters. Zero ozone depletion, a global warming potential under 1, and an atmospheric lifetime measured in days rather than decades, with the same ten-second discharge as any other NFPA 2001 system.
What Novec 1230 is.
FK-5-1-12 is a fluoroketone, chemically dodecafluoro-2-methylpentan-3-one, listed under NFPA 2001 and UL and ULC listed. It is best known by the Novec 1230 brand name, and most people search for it by that name. It is a liquid at room temperature and pressure, which makes it markedly easier to store, ship and handle than a compressed gas.
The liquid is superpressurised with nitrogen and stored in cylinders. On release it vaporises and floods the enclosure, absorbing heat until combustion can no longer sustain itself, and reaching 95% of the minimum design concentration within ten seconds as NFPA 2001 requires. The system architecture is identical to FM-200, down to the panel and the detection. Only the agent in the cylinder is different.
What a complete Novec 1230 system consists of.
Every part below does a job. Leave one out and the rest of it will not behave the way the calculation says it should.
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Agent cylinder and valve
Holds the FK-5-1-12 charge under nitrogen pressure, with the discharge valve that releases it.
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Cylinder bracket
Restrains the cylinder against discharge recoil. UL-listed or FM-approved.
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Pressure gauge and supervisory switch
Monitors the charge continuously and signals the panel if pressure falls.
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Electric actuator
Fires the cylinder valve on command from the releasing panel.
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Manual actuator
Mechanical release at the cylinder itself, independent of the electrical system.
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Pipe network
Sized by flow calculation for the enclosure it serves.
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Discharge nozzles
Positioned so the agent reaches design concentration throughout the protected volume.
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Releasing control panel
Monitors detection, runs the pre-discharge sequence and fires the system.
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Cross-zoned smoke detection
Two independent detection zones must agree before release.
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Manual release station
Deliberate release, sited at the exit.
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Abort station
A held-constant switch inside the hazard that holds the countdown while someone investigates.
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Discharge pressure switch
Confirms the system fired, and signals that onward.
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Horn and strobe
Pre-discharge warning, so the room can be cleared.
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Warning signage
At every entry to the protected space.
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Door closers and damper interlocks
Seal the enclosure on release so the concentration holds.
The numbers.
| Agent | FK-5-1-12, widely known as Novec 1230 |
|---|---|
| Standard | NFPA 2001, Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems |
| Listings | UL and ULC listed |
| Storage | Liquid at room temperature, superpressurised with nitrogen |
| Discharge time | 95% of minimum design concentration within 10 seconds |
| Ozone depletion potential | Zero |
| Global warming potential | Under 1 |
| Atmospheric lifetime | Approximately 5 days |
| Residue | None |
| Approvals | UL-listed and FM-approved components |
The rooms this protects.
Data centres and server rooms
The most common application, and the one where a low-impact agent is easiest to justify.
Control rooms
Continuously staffed spaces, where the agent's occupant safety margin matters most.
Laboratories and cleanrooms
Sensitive processes that cannot tolerate residue of any kind.
Museums, galleries and archives
Irreplaceable collections, where water damage is the greater threat.
Telecom facilities
Distributed sites where a liquid agent is far simpler to transport and store.
Occupied technical spaces
Anywhere people work alongside equipment that a water system would destroy.
Built to NFPA 2001, from listed components.
We design to NFPA 2001 and build from UL-listed and FM-approved components. The two listings answer different questions: UL tests to published safety standards, FM Approvals tests for property-loss performance. Between them they cover both, which is why we specify parts that carry both marks.
Every system is handed over with the flow calculation, the as-built drawings and the commissioning record. Without those three documents there is no way to show the system was ever designed for the room it sits in, which becomes a problem at insurance renewal and again when someone else takes over maintaining it.
What people ask about Novec 1230.
What is FK-5-1-12?
It is the generic designation for the fluoroketone sold as Novec 1230, chemically dodecafluoro-2-methylpentan-3-one. It is the same compound whichever brand name appears on the cylinder, and it is listed under NFPA 2001.
Is Novec 1230 safe for occupied rooms?
It has one of the widest margins of occupant safety among the NFPA 2001 agents, which is a large part of why it is specified for control rooms and staffed data halls. The system still runs a pre-discharge alarm, a time delay and an abort station, because clearing the room before discharge is good practice regardless of the agent.
Novec 1230 or FM-200?
Both are NFPA 2001 clean agents, both discharge in ten seconds, and neither leaves residue. FK-5-1-12 has a global warming potential under 1 and an atmospheric lifetime of about five days, and a wider occupant safety margin. FM-200 has the longer track record and the broader installed base. The two price similarly here, so the decision usually comes down to the room and how much weight the site puts on the environmental numbers.
Can an existing Novec 1230 system still be recharged?
Yes. FK-5-1-12 is in production and readily available, so an existing system can be serviced, recharged after discharge, and extended.
What does a Novec 1230 system consist of?
An agent cylinder and valve on a restraining bracket, a pressure gauge and supervisory switch, electric and manual actuators, a calculated pipe network, discharge nozzles, a releasing control panel, cross-zoned smoke detection, a manual release station, an abort station, a discharge pressure switch, horn and strobe, warning signage, and door closers or damper interlocks.
Why is it stored as a liquid?
FK-5-1-12 is liquid at room temperature and pressure, unlike the compressed gases it competes with. That makes it easier to ship, store and handle, and it is why the agent can be transported to sites where a high-pressure gas would be awkward.
How much does a Novec 1230 system cost in Lebanon?
Close to the equivalent FM-200 system: the two clean agents price similarly here, and the hardware around them is the same. What moves the number is the room itself, meaning its volume, the hazard class and how far the pipe has to run. Give us the dimensions and what is in it, and we will measure the enclosure before pricing it.
Tell us the room. We will tell you what protects it.
Dimensions, what is in it, and whether anyone works in there. That is enough to get us out to survey the room and price the job from its actual volume.