The U.S. Fire Administration issued a benefit-cost analysis report that measures the expected present value of net benefits from installing a multipurpose network fire sprinkler system in a newly constructed, single-family house.

The benefits and costs associated with the installation and use of a fire sprinkler system are compared across three prototypical single-family housing types: colonial, townhouse and ranch. The installation costs differ by housing types, with the colonial being the most expensive and the ranch the least.

The benefits experienced by residents of single-family dwellings with sprinkler systems, as measured in this report, include reduced risk of civilian fatalities and injuries, homeowner insurance premiums, uninsured direct property losses, and uninsured indirect costs. The primary costs examined are for initial purchase and installation of the sprinkler system. Maintenance and repair costs are not examined because they are negligible.

Results of the benefit-cost analysis show that multipurpose network sprinkler systems are economical. The expected present value of net benefits (PVNB) in 2005 dollars is estimated as $2,919 for the colonial-style house, $3,099 for the townhouse, and $4,166 for the ranch-style house. The PVNB range from $704 to $4,801 for the colonial-style house, from $884 to $4,981 for the townhouse, and from $1,950 to $6,048 for the ranch-style house.

Multipurpose network systems are the lowest life-cycle cost systems because homeowners can perform their own regular inspections and maintenance, and thereby save on costs they would incur with other systems. Given that they provide a similar level of performance, in terms of fire-risk mitigation, multipurpose network systems then achieve greater cost-effectiveness over alternate systems.

The report is available at usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/research/dsn/sprinkler_systems.shtm