Compromised life safety sprinkler systems put lives in jeopardy. This is why pipe freeze in sprinkler systems has always been – and continues to be – a major concern for property owners and managers.
According to the National Fire Protection Association sprinkler code, the obligation of preventing sprinkler pipe freeze falls to the building owner. Each building owner fulfils this obligation typically through its own vigilance, or may get delegated a property manager, building occupant, tenant or some combination thereof.
Each year, sprinkler pipes freeze causing unwanted deluges which are difficult and costly to manage, remediate and restore. One claim can easily cause hundreds of thousands – or millions – of dollars in damages, including lost time and productivity.
Most sprinkler rooms are heated with an un-calibrated unit or baseboard heater and are often overlooked until the onset of cold weather. This approach, based upon the temperature of the room’s air, is expensive, inefficient and unreliable.