Fire is a big danger to buildings, and just having a smoke alarm might not be enough to protect your home. Have you ever considered having the same kind of sprinkler you see in commercial and public buildings installed in the home? Studies have reported that if you have a sprinkler system installed, the chances of surviving a fire in your home are increased by more then eighty percent. Because of this, some communities are now requiring fire sprinklers in new construction. For instance, Scottsdale, AZ has required home sprinkler systems since 1986. No one in that area who lives in one of these homes has died in a fire since then.

While we think of ugly ceiling nozzles when sprinklers are mentioned, newer systems can be concealed in the ceiling or wall, and will pop out when they are active. Newer sprinklers also don't cause much damage if they are accidentally set off. This is because each individual sprinkler head is activated by heat, so they only go off as needed. Sprinkler systems are also water conservative, compared to a fire hose, and respond much faster than a fire truck could hope to.

Home fire protection varies in cost. Factors which may influence the cost of your sprinkler system include your location, and whether or not you are installing your sprinklers in a new home. Older homes may cost more to remodel. In new homes, sprinkler inclusion is around a dollar per square foot, a cost which is soon offset by the discount you'll receive from your homeowners insurance company. Retrofitting your house with a new sprinkler system will cost about twice as much as putting sprinklers in new construction.

While this may seem expensive, recall that repairing your home after a fire will cost even more. In Scottsdale, homes which suffered fire damage but had a sprinkler system installed averaged around $2,200 in damage costs. By comparison, conventional homes with no sprinkler system averaged $45,000 in damage bills.

The NFPA, the agency which governs fire sprinklers produced for the home, currently recommends two kinds of sprinklers. The first is a separated system. It ties directly into your water main and is unrelated to your home water system. The second type is attached to your existing water system. In either system, you have the option of mounting sprinkler heads on the ceiling or in the wall. These heads can be recessed or otherwise hidden, and are capable of covering around 400 square feet of floor area. Each head is individually activated by heat, so that only sprinklers around the fire will go off. This minimizes unwanted water damage.