Although you’re unlikely to find residential fire sprinklers included on any “top-10” list of ways to save the planet, the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) says they do deserve credit for being environmentally friendly.

A sprinkler system’s primary purpose is to save lives; but it also saves property. It works by automatically controlling a fire when it detects the high heat from flames. That quick response curbs the spread of heat, smoke and poisonous gases, giving occupants more time to get out and limiting damage.

Water conservation

Because fire sprinklers act so quickly, they keep a fire small – or even extinguish it. That automatic control limits the amount of water that firefighters will need to use when they arrive, if any at all. That’s important, considering how much water goes down the drain. According to a water-use report published by the U.S. Geological Survey, Americans used 408 billion gallons of water per day in 2000. That’s about 1,430 gallons per person.

A residential fire sprinkler system will flow 10-26 gallons of water per minute –far less than fire hoses, which pour as much as 125 gallons of water per minute, under intense pressure and for a sustained period of time.

“In a home fire, a sprinkler system will typically use about 200 hundred gallons of water,” says Gary Keith, HFSC Chair. “That’s a fraction compared to the fire suppression efforts a fire department will have to use to fight an uncontrolled home fire.”

More eco-friendly benefits

By using less water, the life-saving technology also contributes less contamination in run-off water. And, because there is less burning over a shorter period of time, there is less air pollution as a result of the fire.

“When a structure burns, the environment is exposed to a range of damaging by-products of the fire from building materials as well as the varied contents of the property,” says Keith. “Keeping a home from massive burning – as fire sprinkler systems will – helps to limit particle pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. And, without all that destruction, less debris goes into our landfills.”

Of course, homeowners choose fire sprinkler systems to save their loved ones, not the planet. But isn’t it nice to know that it’s a choice that also helps the environment?