Automation of two or more systems in a home or building to help prevent collateral damage is nothing new. For example, the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) has a longstanding life safety code for commercial applications that require the automatic shutdown of mechanical ventilation when smoke is detected inside to reduce the spread of smoke and fire throughout the building.
When applied to residential home hardening, key systems working together such as fresh air ventilation damper control, natural gas or propane shutoff, HVAC, and irrigation are just a few examples of systems that can be automated to sense and apply smart actions that significantly aid in the prevention of embers, smoke, or explosion from damaging the home from the inside.
Meaningful input to the automation system through platforms such as on-premises ambient sensors and regional alert systems are used to apply a set of tests within seconds to determine when it is best to shut down mechanical ventilation and also close and seal fresh air intake dampers to prevent embers and smoke from entering the home. When these conditions are met, automation then tests additional conditions to determine whether to shut off natural gas or propane to the home or building. All these preventive, automated actions are performed quickly, allowing a home or building owner to focus on other things that cannot be automated. In contrast, if these tasks were attempted manually, it could mean significant delay during a time-sensitive evacuation or that they could be missed altogether.
Some larger parcels on well water have added special irrigation installations around the perimeter of the property and on the structure that automatically turn on based on various input factors, but that type of automation is very specific to the property where it is installed. While the concept of integrating with an irrigation system is not new, property owners without well water who rely on municipal water face implementation challenges and practical concerns that revolve around water supply during a wildfire event.
In more recent installations, some applications mix water stored on the premises with a fire-retardant Class A foam, a liquid used to extinguish fires by introducing air into the mixture of water and concentrate solution. When low-flow sprinklers dispense this solution under eaves and on the roof, bubbles from the white blanket the foam creates adhere to the exterior and gradually release the water they contain to wet out fuels for a longer period than water alone would.
A blanket of Class A foam is also known to absorb heat more efficiently and provides a barrier to oxygen, necessary to sustain combustion. When the foam solution is integrated with exterior fire sprinklers, being connected to the municipal water supply rather than well water is no longer a barrier of entry to this type of fire mitigation. Applications that could protect one’s home without interfering or negatively affecting official fire mitigation efforts have great appeal, but we have yet to see such an integration among our particular client base here in the Tahoe/Truckee area.
Every property is unique and the systems it makes sense to install and integrate differ from one location to another. Smart automation, as it applies to home hardening, continues to gain interest because automation of key systems is virtually limitless.
During a wildfire event, the details of property protection rightly take second place to ensuring life safety. Smart, sequential events across two or more systems provide a line of on-premises defense because the home has taken a series of actions to protect itself, which is especially invaluable when time is of the essence.
~ Brian Miller is the owner of Definitive Technical in Truckee. Definitive has specialized in offering certified smart home and building automation solutions in the Tahoe/Truckee area since 2003. When he is not making homes smarter, there is a good chance you can find him and his wife hiking, biking, or sliding down the snowy mountains, enjoying all that our amazing area has to offer. He loves the region and the clients Definitive serves.
