This is part of your sprinkler system that is of great importance to insurance representatives and fire and building code enforcement staff. It is required to be installed when the sprinkler system is activated. Unfortunately, many of these signs are lost or they are filled out using a non-permanent ink that degrades and becomes illegible. If plans and calculations are not available, the data is difficult to find.
Why should you care about a sign? It does not affect whether the system works or not. But in a sense, it does affect the effectiveness of your sprinkler system. By clearly identifying the design basis of your system, it tells the story of what the system was intended to protect. A system designed for protecting metal goods will not control a fire in plastic goods. Both the insurance carrier and the responding fire department have an interest in this information. Lack of this information can create difficulties for you in the future.
Insurance Impacts of a missing placard
The first impact may be the insurance company not offering sprinkler credit for the building because they cannot verify the design is adequate. They may make a recommendation to get the system design calculated or they may simply quote a rate that is much higher. Many buildings that are fully sprinklered never get the rating benefit of the sprinklers because the sign is missing. This can be a very expensive recurring cost.
Fire and building code impacts of a missing placard
When you are applying for a building permit or a permit related to the fire code, the adequacy of your sprinkler system may be a factor in approving the request. Without a placard, the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) may decline to approve your request due to insufficient supporting information. The 2025 edition of NFPA 13, the standard for installation of sprinkler systems, now requires that existing systems have accurate hydraulic calculation placards. If your locality had adopted this code, you may get a violation notice to get the system calculated.
What are the numbers on this placard?
Basis of Design
Density or starting PSI – A sprinkler system can be designed to flow a certain quantity of water over each square foot of the design area. The density is between 0.10 to 0.80. If the density is .20 then the sprinkler system is designed to discharge .20 gallons per minute per square foot over the design area.
Starting Pressure - An alternate design method is to choose a specific sprinkler and base the design on a starting pressure for that sprinkler head. This value is shown in Pounds per Square Inch (PSI)
Design Area of Discharge – If your sprinkler system has a density, then it will have an area of application or design. This can be a number between 900 and 5,000. This is the area of your building that is designed to have every sprinkler head in this area flowing the designed density.
Number of Sprinklers Flowing – for systems with a starting pressure, the second part of the design is the number of sprinkler heads to be included in the calculations. For an area/ density system the number of sprinklers flowing can be a check for the coverage of each sprinkler in sq. ft. This figure of per head coverage varies with the hazard being protected.
System Demand
Residual Pressure at the Base of Riser — is the minimum water pressure needed to satisfy the system demand. This is based on the piping sizes and layout of the sprinkler system
Total Required Flow – this is the amount of water in GPM that is required to provide based on the density/ area or starting pressure and number of heads design.
Hose Allowance – System design includes hose streams for the fire department. The typical hose streams can be between 100 and 750 GPM
Occupancy Classification - is for systems that are designed based on the occupancy of the building. These are Light, Ordinary 1 or 2 and Extra Hazard 1 or 2.
Commodity Class – is for storage occupancies. Each storage system is designed to protect a specific commodity. Changes in commodities can make systems inadequate.
Maximum Storage Height – systems are designed with storage height as a controlling factor. Indicating the maximum storage height anticipated by the design is important to allow evaluation of height increases and the impact on system adequacy.
The placard provides a wealth of information about your sprinkler system and the hazards it was intended to protect. Missing or illegible placards prevent those evaluations from being completed. The latest NFPA codes make having placard data available a requirement for existing systems. Watch for this to be a more frequent recommendation from insurance companies. The cost to reverse engineer this can be several thousand dollars.
The Driehaus Difference
We understand this topic and can help you navigate your methods to comply. Call us to discuss a missing placard and we can help identify possible solutions that may exist. Getting the data properly presented can help reduce your property insurance costs. We want to be your insurance provider, call us on 513-977-6860 or reach out to us via our website, www.driehausins.com.
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