The Environmental Impacts of a Fire Damper

Abstract

Fire-preventing measures are important and often mandatory. Fire dampers are noteworthy safety measures that protect against the spread of fire through ventilation systems. Although the technical performance is well understood and known, the environmental impacts related to fire dampers are not as well explored. The environmental impact of a fire damper has been assessed in this study. By following the life cycle assessment framework several impacts have been identified. The overall results from the study show that environmental impacts in the life cycle of the fire damper are relatively similar independent of the impact category. The most considerable environmental impact seems to stem from the raw material acquisition phase and the use phase in the life cycle of the fire damper. The most significant source of impact was related to the actuator, its manufacturing and its energy requirements during the use phase. By changing some materials, such as the steel frame to a reused complement, the environmental impact could be reduced. Material reduction and the usage of different material types would evidently lessen the impact. The results obtained were compared with two other fire dampers and showed that the studied fire damper had a lower climate change impact during the production phases. Some large differences between fire dampers were seen, and the issue of comparing EPDs based on different assumptions and frameworks became evident. A sensitivity analysis examined the rigidity of the model as well as different scenarios. One factor was changed at a time and t-tests showed that the model was insignificantly different from the assumed interchangeable data sets, suggesting the model’s rigidity to be high. Uncertainties were presented and a Monte Carlo analysis showed how these uncertainties could greatly affect the results of multi-factorial changes.