CPVC Piping Systems

Fire Sprinkler Systems and Environmental Impact

BlazeMaster Pipes

Factor the Future into Material Decisions by Choosing BlazeMaster® Fire Sprinkler Systems CPVC Piping

When specifying a fire sprinkler piping system, there are many factors to consider regarding what pipe and fitting materials to use. While features such as hydraulic performance, heat tolerance and required installation times are relatively easy to measure with common piping materials, not all comparisons are so simple. The environmental impacts of piping materials, for example—an increasingly important factor for those seeking recognition as “sustainable” entities or pursuing “green” building accreditations—are less readily apparent. Factors such as this can only be measured via specialized studies called life cycle assessments (LCAs) that consider the entire lifespan of a product, from raw material acquisition to removal and disposal of piping materials, making it important to heed findings of these studies when they are conducted.

LCAs are carried out by credible, impartial experts, such as those that work for Environmental Resources Management Limited (ERM), an environmental research firm with offices around the world. ERM recently conducted such an ISO-compliant LCA which compared the environmental impacts of the two most common materials used for fire sprinkler systems in the United States—steel piping and BlazeMaster® fire sprinkler systems CPVC piping—to find out which material’s production and use was most detrimental to the environment. The results were clear: BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems CPVC piping is clearly a preferable fire sprinkler piping material to steel for ecologically conscious builders.

Because environmental degradation can occur in many forms, ERM’s LCA of steel fire sprinkler systems and BlazeMaster Fire Sprinkler Systems looked at a number of factors. The following were their findings: 

  • Climate change impact: Steel piping was found to have a more severe environmental impact than BlazeMaster Fire Sprinkler Systems when it comes to climate change.
  • Energy consumption: Steel production was found to use and deplete more renewable and non-renewable energy sources when compared to BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems.
  • Natural resource depletion: BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems has a much better environmental performance than steel piping in this category due to petroleum coke use and its higher weight.
  • Toxicity and ecotoxicity: Steel piping was found to have a more severe environmental impact than BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems as related to freshwater, marine and terrestrial
  • Photochemical oxidant formation: Steel piping has more than twice the smog-related environmental impact of BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems.
  • Acidification: Steel piping had nearly twice the impact of BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems related to acidification of soil and water. 
  • Eutrophication: Steel piping was found to contribute in excess of 90 percent more to eutrophication than BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems, leading to excessive marine oxygen depletion.
  • Ozone layer depletion: Steel piping outperformed BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems in this one category, though as PVC/CPVC recycling increases, steel’s advantage in this category likely will disappear. 

As summarized succinctly by Michael Collins, the technical director at ERM responsible for the steel/BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems LCA comparison, “BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems emerged as a much stronger choice for an environmentally friendly fire sprinkler piping solution.” Consider this the next time fire sprinkler piping material is specified for a project where sustainability is a high priority. 

For more information on the environmental benefits of choosing BlazeMaster fire sprinkler systems CPVC piping or to learn more about ERM’s recent LCA, call 1.855.735.1431.