Automatic sprinklers are among the most effective building fire protection measures. Most fires are extinguished before they spread, making buildings safer for occupants while also protecting property. Because of their dependability, fire sprinklers qualify buildings for better insurance plans with lower premiums. A sprinkler system, on the other hand, must be well designed to provide reliability while also meeting building codes and NFPA standards. The system should also be well-designed, as having more sprinkler heads than required is a waste of money.

An ideal automatic sprinkler system would include the following features:

Providing complete coverage for your building.

Meeting all applicable building codes, NFPA standards, and regulations.

Using the fewest number of sprinkler heads that meet the two criteria listed above, and distributing water over the shortest possible piping length.

Obtaining a professional design from qualified fire protection engineers is the best recommendation for meeting these conditions. This ensures that fire sprinkler plans and other specifications are code compliant and understandable to contractors. Professional design services can also assist you in locating a sprinkler layout that provides dependable protection at the lowest possible cost.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), buildings with automatic sprinklers receive a 7% insurance discount on average. However, some projects have achieved insurance discounts of up to 50%.

Sprinklers are designed to extinguish fires as soon as they start, without allowing them to spread. Contrary to popular belief, fire sprinklers only spray water directly above an active fire, not the entire room as depicted in movies and television shows.

• Sprinklers have a heat-sensitive seal that opens when hot air rises above a burning fire. This allows for a more targeted response, preventing water from being released over non-burning areas.
• Most automatic sprinklers are not equipped with a smoke response mechanism. This is to avoid accidental sprinkler activation, as there are many sources of smoke other than fires.

For example, if someone smokes inside a building, the smoke alarms will sound. However, because there is no heat, the fire sprinklers remain closed. Water damage is a common worry for property owners who must install a sprinkler system. However, this is due to the incorrect image of sprinklers created by movies and TV shows.

When a fire or smoke is detected, special sprinkler systems, similar to those seen in movies, spray the entire area. They are known as deluge sprinkler systems, and they are rarely used in residential or commercial buildings. These systems are only used in critical applications where fire is a serious hazard, such as explosives storage areas.

Sprinkler systems with localized action are especially useful in offices with computers, data centers, and other IT equipment.

• When a fire breaks out, water only falls above the affected area.
• IT equipment is only exposed to water if it is in a burning area, but even then, it would be destroyed.
• As a result, even when electronic devices are present, it makes sense to use fire sprinklers.

Sprinkler systems all operate on the same basic principle, but they are classified into different types based on how they work. Sprinkler systems are classified into the following categories:

System of Wet Pipes

This is the most common and also the most basic type of sprinkler system. The piping is permanently filled with water, which is automatically released when a sprinkler head opens.

System of Dry Pipes

The piping is filled with pressurized inert gas, and a valve prevents water from entering. The gas is released when a sprinkler head opens, and the valve opens as the pressure drops. Water can then be discharged by open sprinklers via the piping.

Dry pipe systems are used in situations where a wet pipe system would be inappropriate. If an unheated area requires fire protection, for example, a dry pipe system is required because a wet pipe system would freeze.

System of Pre-Action

This design is equivalent to a dry pipe system in that water is kept separate.

A valve allows water to flow out of the piping. In this case, however, the valve is activated by heat or smoke sensors. The sprinkler heads do not change because they normally open in response to heat.

The Deluge System

As previously stated, a deluge sprinkler system is similar to those seen in movies. Heat and smoke sensors control the water release from all sprinklers, which are always on.

Deluge systems are used in high-risk areas for fire

How Sprinkler Plans Can Be Optimized by Fire Protection Engineers

A building’s interior should ideally have full fire protection with the fewest number of sprinklers possible. When a building has more sprinkler heads than required, the piping layout becomes much more complicated, and the overall installation costs more.

The number of fire sprinklers needed in a building is determined by its floor area. However, architectural features and interior design can also influence sprinkler system layout.

Many problems can be avoided if fire protection engineers collaborate with architects and interior designers early on in the design process.

Each party will be conscious of how design decisions impact others in this manner. This enhances collaboration throughout the project.

It is not advisable, for example, to place a tall furniture piece directly beneath a sprinkler head. If there is a fire and that precise sprinkler activates, the furniture blocks a huge amount of the water released.

Building Information Modeling (BIM), like other MEP installations, is a powerful tool for designing fire protection systems:

Sprinkler plans can be easily generated after a three-dimensional model of all building systems has just been created.

Key technical information can be connected to specific components in the sprinkler system model, making it available to everyone involved in the project.

Automatic sprinkler systems frequently share ceiling spaces with components such as lighting fixtures, electrical conduit, and HVAC ducts. The layout of all of these systems can be created using BIM.