Every data centre runs on one non-negotiable requirement: continuous power. Behind the racks, the cooling plant and the network gear sits a chain of transformers, and a single transformer fire can take an entire facility offline for days, not minutes. CTR’s Nitrogen Injection Fire Protection System (NIFPS) is built to stop that chain of events before it starts. Proven across more than 13,000 installations worldwide.
Data centres are built around uptime. Tier III and Tier IV facilities are designed around only a few hours, or in some cases just minutes, of permitted downtime a year, and every SLA a data centre signs depends on that number holding. Power infrastructure is where that promise is most exposed. The Uptime Institute has found that power related failures are behind a significant share of major data centre outages, and transformers sit right at the centre of that risk.
Every oil filled transformer, whether at the utility interconnection point, a dedicated on-site substation, or a distribution yard feeding the facility, carries a large volume of insulating oil. An internal fault such as arcing, a winding failure or a bushing failure can rupture the tank and ignite that oil in seconds. The resulting fire threatens adjacent switchgear and cabling, can damage the building structure, and cuts power to everything the transformer feeds. Gas suppression inside the data hall protects the servers. It does nothing for the transformer yard or substation outside it. That gap is what NIFPS is built to close.
NIFPS, also called the Transformer Explosion Prevention and Fire Extinguishing System (EPFES), is a dedicated fire prevention and suppression system for oil filled transformers and reactors.
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Suitable Transformer Rating | 5 MVA to 500 MVA and above |
| Applicable Voltage Class | Up to 765 kV Systems |
| Nitrogen Cylinder Capacity | 50L / 68L / Customized Capacity |
| Nitrogen Gas Purity | 99.9% Dry Nitrogen |
| Operating Pressure | 150–200 Bar Cylinder Pressure |
CTR designs and manufactures NIFPS for power generation, transmission and distribution installations, including the substations and transformers that keep a data centre powered. The system covers oil filled transformers and reactors from 750 kVA distribution units up to 1500 MVA, 765 kV power transformers, so the same technology fits a data centre’s on-site distribution transformers as well as the larger transformers at its grid interconnection or dedicated substation.
NIFPS follows a drain, cool and inject sequence designed to act faster than an internal fault can escalate into a fire.
The system reads fault signals from the transformer's protection scheme, including differential trip, Buchholz relay and pressure relief valve signals, to identify a developing fault before it becomes a fire.
The Transformer Conservator Isolation Valve (TCIV) closes immediately, cutting off the flow of oil from the conservator tank so the fault cannot be fed by additional oil.
On receiving the activation signal, the system begins depressurising and draining a predetermined quantity of oil from the main tank within 13 milliseconds. Nitrogen is injected under pressure from the bottom of the tank at the same time.
As the nitrogen rises through the oil, it stirs and cools the oil below its ignition point, while occupying the space left by the drained oil to form an insulating layer that keeps the remaining oil away from atmospheric oxygen.
If fire breaks out externally, at the bushing or radiator, the system extinguishes it within 30 seconds.
If the site's power supply fails, NIFPS can still be triggered manually from the control box or the fire extinguishing cubicle, so protection does not depend on the facility's electrical supply staying intact, which matters most exactly when a transformer fault has occurred.
NIFPS is installed on the oil filled transformers and reactors in a data centre’s electrical infrastructure. That typically includes:
NIFPS protects the transformer itself. It is not a substitute for the clean agent or gas based suppression used inside the data hall to protect servers and IT equipment. CTR positions NIFPS as the layer of protection built specifically for the electrical infrastructure that feeds the facility.
For the switchgear, cabling and structures around those transformers, CTR’s wider explosion prevention and fire safety range adds cable fire protection, fire barriers and arc flash protection, so the transformer yard and substation are covered as a whole.
CTR Manufacturing Industries has been designing power and fire protection infrastructure since 1964, with more than six decades of experience protecting transformers and reactors for utilities, railways, transmission companies, EPC contractors and solar farm developers across India and beyond.
NIFPS, part of CTR’s Explosion Prevention and Fire Extinguishing System (EPFES) range, is developed and tested at CTR’s own R&D and high voltage test facility, covering equipment up to 765 kV. With regional offices already established in Pune, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, CTR’s fire protection engineers are placed close to India’s major data centre hubs.
No. NIFPS protects the oil filled transformers and reactors in a data centre’s power infrastructure. Servers and data halls need separate, purpose built suppression, typically a clean agent gas system, which works alongside NIFPS rather than in place of it.
NIFPS covers oil filled transformers and reactors from 750 kVA up to 1500 MVA and 765 kV, so it fits a data centre’s on-site distribution transformers as well as larger transformers at a grid interconnection or dedicated substation.
On receiving an activation signal, the system starts de-pressurising and draining oil within 13 milliseconds, with nitrogen injection beginning at the same time. External fires at the bushing or radiator are extinguished within 30 seconds.
Yes. Alongside automatic operation, NIFPS can be triggered manually from the control box or fire extinguishing cubicle, so it continues to function even if the site’s power supply fails.
Yes. NIFPS can be installed on both new and existing transformers on site, with a minimal outage period.
NIFPS, part of CTR’s EPFES range, is ISO 9001:2015 and CE ATEX certified, and complies with NFPA guidelines for fire protection.
Yes. More than 13,000 CTR systems are in operation worldwide, and the system is credited with saving over 125 transformers and reactors during actual fault events.