AnthonyW

Question: Who covers the cost of an accidental discharge in a residential unit? I surely don't want to pay for it.

In addition, if the system is inline run with 1" pipe, there will not be sufficient water flow when a single faucet(especially the one at the end of the line) is open to attempt to keep the system free of sediment and other things settling and grow in the pipes. As most faucets are only plumbed for 1/2" lines, ie. only 25% of the flow capacity of the supply line. So why bother running the 1" lines, they'll fill up to nearly 1/2" ID in 15-20 years anyway. I've just worked in a few older homes where the supply lines were 3/4" and 1" copper and teed off to 1/2" and 3/8" appliances. The lines were nearly full of sediment and the homes were built in the 70's. (the homeowner was complaining of low water flow)

One more item. Homeowners insurance. I doubt that the price will go down because a sprinkler system is installed. The number of accidential discharges and the cost to clean them up will far outweigh the "discount" the insurance company will give you so your house doesn't burn to the ground.

I too am a New Englander.

Freezing pipes in heated houses are a reality and not a "lame arguement". They freeze in the basements of heated homes and they freeze in homes without power.

As for accidental discharge, at work we have annual accidental discharges, from people accidentally hitting the sprinkler hears with things. Kids, stuff, houses, and sprinklers. Now there's a bad combination.

Well water (or city). I don't know many places where you can get 26GPM flow in a residental water system. Additionally you can ask any plumber this question. What size pipe do I need for 26GPM. 1/2" won't do it at all. 3/4" may achieve more than 23GPM over 100psig! (I don't want that much pressure in my plumbing. So the sprinklers will need to be piped with 1" tubing (which may achieve 37GPM at 100psig). I don't know how many people have priced pipe lately, but each size up almost doubles the cost. If the 3/4" is $15/length then the 1" stuff will be ~$25. That's going to be a lot more additional cost than is calculated here.

Additionally, the two most common fires are started from open flame or electrical. In the the case of the electrical fire, chances are you won't have power, and therefore won't have a well pump. I recently had my pressure tank changed out and up sized (from 40 to 80 gallon). If I need 26GPM for 10 minutes, that 260 gallons of water to be stored. Damn! That's one BIG tank to have in my basement!

I like the idea of regulation, but someone needs to figure out just how to implement it reliably, safely, and cost effectively in a residential setting. Otherwise it a lot of money that we have to spend for something that won't be worth a penny.