NIST Report Applauds Home Sprinklers in Cost-Benefit Study
December 11, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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Economists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted a benefit-cost analysis and found that for new home construction, a multipurpose network sprinkler system that connects to a home's regular water supply and piping makes good economic sense.
NIST's recent Benefit-Cost Analysis of Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems report examines data from 2002 to 2005 to value the economic performance of a residential "wet-pipe" fire sprinkler system.
The additional economic benefits from installation of a multipurpose network sprinkler system (the least costly wet-pipe system available) are estimated for three types of newly constructed single-family houses also equipped with smoke detectors.
The study builds on a prior cost analysis developed by NIST's Building and Fire Research Laboratory and offers a current analysis of the economics of residential fire sprinkler technology.
According to NIST, the cost in 2005 dollars for adding a multipurpose network sprinkler system to a house under construction was approximately $2,075 for a 3,338-square-foot colonial-style house, $1,895 for a 2,257-square-foot townhouse and $829 for a 1,171-square-foot ranch house.
However, when a house fire occurs, the estimated benefits of a residential fire sprinkler system include a 100% reduction in civilian fatalities, a 57% reduction in civilian injuries and a 32% reduction of both direct property damage (property losses that would not be covered by insurance) and indirect property costs (fire-related expenses such as temporary shelter, missed work, extra food costs, legal expenses, transportation, emotional counseling and child care).
Houses with sprinklers, in addition to smoke alarms, also received an 8% reduction in homeowner insurance premiums, over houses only equipped with smoke alarms.
After subtracting installation costs and weighting the benefits by the odds that a house would catch on fire, NIST economists concluded that, over the 30-year study period and depending on assumptions, the net gain from installing a sprinkler system (in 2005 dollars) would vary between $704 and $4,801 for the colonial-style house, between $884 and $4,981 for the townhouse and between $1,950 and $6,048 for the ranch-style house.
In all cases examined, researchers found that the data supported the finding that multipurpose network residential fire sprinkler systems are cost-effective.
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), funded the research.
Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).