Hello Everyone,
We have recently being asked to connect a sprinkler flow switch to the house Fire Alarm system, which i have no problems with at all, my question is does a sprinkler flow switch have to be allocated its own zone? or can you add it to a currently installed zone? I only ask because in experience of servicing this type of system, the flow switch usually has its own zone. Any Help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Like you,I have always allocated flow switches a zone of their own but never stopped to ask why - it just always has been the case.
Practically,it is near impossible to decide if a flow switch has activated without taking it apart and metering it (unless you have fitted a local visual indicator of it) so it would make confirming where the activation was within a zone difficult.

Same here, Always own its own zone for identification reasons

El ditto. Always put it in it's own marked up seperate zone. Let's you know the flow switch has activated, not necessarily always a fire condition, but should be responded to as such.

I find it easier for the customer if its in a separate zone. They can disable just the sprinkler zone when its been serviced

Same as , always connect to its own allocated zone, although if its a house alarm system with only a few devices and it would be diificult or require another panel i would stick it on an existing zone

Cheers Guys, Yeah the building is due for a refit in the next two years, and its a 4 zone conventional panel with a zone allocated to each floor, so it would have to be a new panel. I was just wondering if in the regs it specifically has to be on its own zone, or whether it just classes as a device? Thanks for all your opinions.

If your going to fit this on a conventional panel it should be able to be isolated by the client IE key switch etc this opens a can of worms I had a site with a sprinkler zone the system was drained for testing and then could not be refilled due to a fault which took six weeks to fix no one wanted to pay for the switch to be dissed from the system until the sprinklers were fixed the client said it was down to the sprinkler company and vice-verse they kept on calling the fault in under there service contract as the panel was in fault but as the key was isolated so round and round it went in the end I went to the shopping center management on the off chance they could help to find the sprinkler flow switch was in fact theirs and under contract with another company and they new nothing of the problem with the local sprinklers this did cause a s..t storm for the shop in the end the switch was wired to the house system 2 days before the pipe was repaired.