European sprinkler standards To increase the acceptance of sprinklers by regulators across Europe we need national standards to which they can refer. Bjorn Schaumberg, EFSN’s standards expert, recognises that great progress has been made in recent years.
When regulators adopt a new requirement or incentive to fit sprinklers in a building code they need standards to which they can refer, so it is clear what is meant by a sprinkler system and its key components, such as the sprinklers themselves. Regulatory references are always to national standards. While other standards, such as NFPA or FM data sheets, are usually accepted, it has to be argued that they are equivalent alternatives. Standards, as their name suggests, set a level of performance which must be achieved by everyone. In this way they help to create a fair market. We already have some sprinkler component standards in the EN 12259 series but there are gaps, while the installation standard, EN 12845, does not include some useful innovations. For over a decade CEN Technical Committee 191, Working Group 5, did not have professional secretariat support. This was because no national standards body was prepared to fund someone to take on this role and that lack of support considerably slowed the process. In autumn 2018, thanks to additional contributions from certain of its members, EFSN appointed me as an expert on CEN standards rules, and I am glad to report that together we are now making much faster progress. Within WG5 we have formed informal task groups to divide up the work and help us focus on the different activities. Currently TG1 drafts most component standards, TG2 works on EN 12845 and TG4 on pump sets.
Existing sprinkler standards
EN 12259-1 is a component standard for K57, K80 and K115 sprinklers. It includes test protocols and acceptance criteria, as well as defining certain other aspects. The scope extends to conventional, upright and pendent spray, flat spray, dry, sidewall and concealed sprinklers. Like most of the other standards in the EN 12259 series, it was written about 20 years ago under the legal
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framework of the Construction Products Directive, CPD. It was published by the European Commission, EC, in the Official Journal of the European Union, OJEU, which makes it a harmonised standard and one that can be used for CE-marking of the sprinklers within its scope. Other sprinklers cannot be CE-marked using this standard. EN 12259-2 and EN 12259-3 are component standards for wet and dry alarm valve assemblies respectively, while EN 12259-4 covers water motor alarms (the gong) and EN 12259-5 specifies the performance to be achieved by flow switches. All these standards were also written under the CPD and can be used for CE-marking. By contrast EN 12259-9, a component standard for deluge valves, was published in 2019 under the legal basis of the Construction Products Regulation, CPR. It has not been harmonised by the EC (cited in the OJEU) and cannot be used for CE-marking. However, it can be referenced by authorities, consultants and others. Similarly EN 12259-14, a component standard for residential sprinklers, was published in 2020 and is also not harmonised but is available as a reference. Its scope is being amended to exclude the use of o-ring seals, which tend to stick and prevent water release when the sprinkler operates. UL has found that the laboratory test for these seals in the 2020 edition does not predict satisfactory field performance. Non-harmonised component standards can be referenced in the two design, installation and maintenance standards, EN 12845 for systems for the protection of commercial and industrial risks, and EN 16925 for residential risks. The first of these standards was last updated in 2015 and is now being reviewed, while the second is more recent, being published by most countries in 2019. These standards refer to the relevant product standards above.