Effect of residential sprinklers on water quality in domestic systems

Worldwide, fires cause more than 10,000 deaths per year, while home fires account for over 75% of all fire fatalities. Among various fire safety technologies, residential fire sprinklers have proven to be an effective way to reduce the burden of fire by preventing more than 80% of residential fire fatalities and around 70% of property damage per fire.

Still, this concept of sprinkler integration into domestic plumbing can only be accepted by water companies if it is proved that extension of the plumbing, to fit sprinkler heads, does not significantly affect the drinking water quality at the tap.

In line of the above limitations it is necessary to establish a linkage between residence time, temperature dynamics, domestic drinking system layout and drinking water quality at the tap. This research, therefore, aims at improving the knowledge about the importance and influence of long residence times, temperature development and extended plumbing on microbiological and chemical water quality in domestic plumbing system, especially when dealing with stochastic demand patterns. The research proposed will generate knowledge which is necessary to assess technical feasibility and sustainability of a new sprinkler-based system, fully integrated into domestic drinking water systems. It aims to give an answer to the question to what extent implementation of a sprinkler system in the home plumbing results in alteration of water quality at the consumer’s tap level.

Project partners
Delft University of Technology, Brabant Water, Oasen, PWN, Vitens, Waternet

Funded by
Stichting Promotie Installatietechniek, Brabant Water, Oasen, PWN, Vitens, Waternet

TU-Project coordinator
Jan Peter van der Hoek

Period
2014-2015