Think about it. If you have a fire hot enough to set off a sprinkler head, you want water on it. If you are in a fire, you want to be under a sprinkler. They are one of the most effective safety devices ever invented.
I highly recommend them for computer rooms, even over or in addition to gas systems. A much bigger problem than water is smoke damage. Sprinklers provide alarm notification, quick control, and smoke reduction. They also improve the environment for humans. Aside from magnetic and paper media, little about a computer is hurt by water if the power is off. It does need to be properly and quickly dried to prevent corrosion, but water is used to clean many parts of solder flux or coatings. Water can be cleaned off, soot can't and is corrosive. Power can be interlocked so it is removed before water is applied. It is the stray currents on wet circuits that damage electronics. If you have a computer so critical it can't be powered down in a fire, you haven't done your redundancy planning. Bob Johnson ITE Safety <http://www.itesafety.com> Ken Javor wrote: In my experience the requirement is driven by insurance and legal considerations; technical concerns are secondary. With "pop-up" sprinkler heads, PVC pipes and uncharged systems (until an alarm event) I don't think they have the negative impact on the room grounding and anechoic properties they once had. I think the major impact these days is simply cost. A long time ago the driving need for sprinklers was the inflammability of traditional pyramidal foam cone absorbers. If a chamber just used ferrite lining, I think the fire hazard would much less. If you use hybrid absorber with tiles and foam cones, the problem comes back. Now there are newer forms of hybrid using tiles and what looks to be carbon-impregnated cardboard, which is likely also a fire hazard but not as much material to sustain a blaze. My chamber complex has no sprinklers. But it is homemade screen rooms, no absorber panels... Ken Javor Phone: (256) 650-5261 From: <mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]> List-Post: [email protected] Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:37:14 -0700 To: <mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]> Conversation: Sprinkler Systems in Anechoic Chambers Subject: Sprinkler Systems in Anechoic Chambers I have a question regarding sprinkler systems in Anechoic chambers. Are there any list members with an opinion on the matter? I have a chamber I am installing and I am working with the fire safety group to determine if we have to install sprinklers. Have any of you been able to get away without installing sprinklers in your chambers? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks, Cody - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
