We have all seen the proverbial fire sprinklers in commercial and public buildings but have you ever though of installing them in your home? Studies have shown that having a fire sprinkler system can increase the chances of surviving a home fire by some 80 plus percent. Some areas are now making fire sprinkler systems a requirement for new residential construction, in Scottsdale Arizonian all new home construction has included home sprinkler systems since 1986, since that time no one has died in a home fire with a sprinkler system.
Sprinklers do not have to be the ugly nozzles we have all seen the new generation of home sprinklers can be reseed and concealed in the ceiling or walls and pop out when they are activated. Most people assume that sprinklers will cause excessive damage if they are inadvertently set off, this is not true the individual sprinkler heads are activated individually by heat so if one goes off the others do not automatically go off. One other myth is that sprinkler fire systems waste water, actually the reverse is true sprinklers use far less water than a fire hose and as a sprinkler goes off far before even the best fire truck could arrive the fire is put out with much less water.
The cost of installing a home fire protection sprinkler system will vary depending on where you live and whether you are installing it in new construction or remolding. Studies have shown that the cost to include the sprinkler system in new construction is only about a $1.00 per square foot this installation cost is quickly offset by the reduced rates that insurance companies for houses with sprinkler systems. Retrofit sprinkler system installation is about twice the cost of installation in a new house.
To get an idea of how much damage and repair costs we can revisit Scottsdale as reported by the fire department the house that caught of fire that had a home sprinkler system installed averaged under $2,200 in damages compare that with housed that did not have a home fire protection system averaged $45,000 in damages.
The NFPA which governs home fire sprinklers currently has two types of sprinklers that they recommend. The first type is a separated system that ties directly to he water main and is unaffected by your home water system the second type is hooked to your existing water system. With either system the sprinkler heads can be mounted either overhead in the ceiling or even in a wall both can be recessed or hidden and can cover approximately 400 square feet of floor space. Fire sprinkler heads are individually heat activated this way only sprinkler heads in the area of the fire are set off protecting the rest of the house from water damage.
