Residential dry sprinkler design method and system

Abstract

A method of designing a residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit are shown and described. The residential dwelling unit has a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, 13R. The method can be achieved by: determining a minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers required to determine a hydraulic demand calculation of the residential fire sprinklers of a piping network filled with water and arranged to protect the plurality of compartments; and specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers in a piping network filled with a gas. Various aspects of the invention are also shown and described.

What is claimed is: 
     
      
       1. A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, the method comprising: 
       
         determining a minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers required to determine a hydraulic demand calculation of the residential fire sprinklers of a piping network filled with water and arranged to protect the plurality of compartments, wherein the determining a minimum quantity and location includes determining a wet design area; and 
         specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers, as determined for the dry system having a dry design area that is the same as the wet design area. 
       
      
     
     
      
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining includes: 
       
         defining a magnitude of pressure and flow rate of a fluid supply source in the wet pipe fire sprinkler system, wherein the flow rate includes a flow of water selected from a group of flow rates consisting of 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 gallons per minute; and 
         selecting residential fire sprinklers at a nominal rated K-factor selected from a group consisting of 3.0, 3.9, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.7, 4.9, 5.5 and 5.6; and 
         wherein the specifying includes calculating the hydraulic flow rate of the selected residential fire sprinkler from the fluid supply source to the selected residential fire sprinkler to determine whether the selected fire sprinkler, up to a maximum of four, within a compartment of the residential dwelling unit, requires the highest hydraulic flow rate. 
       
      
     
     
      
       3. A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standard 13D and the method comprising: 
       
         determining a wet design area of a wet pipe fire sprinkler system and a minimum number of residential fire sprinklers based on a hydraulic demand calculation of all residential fire sprinklers up to two sprinklers within a compartment of the residential dwelling unit for the wet system; and 
         specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers, as determined, for the dry system having a dry design area the same as the wet design area for the wet system, the dry system including—
 a water supply source to provide sufficient water flow rate to a network of pipes so as to maintain a preselected density under National Fire Protection Association Standard 13D for a predetermined duration; 
 a single control valve; 
 a dry pipe valve; and 
 a network of pipes to be filled with a gas when the residential sprinklers are in an unactuated condition so that the pipes are dry. 
 
       
      
     
     
      
       4. A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13 and 13R, the method comprising: 
       
         determining a wet design area of a wet pipe fire sprinkler system and a minimum number of residential fire sprinklers based on a hydraulic demand calculation of all residential fire sprinklers up to four sprinklers within a compartment of the residential dwelling unit for the wet system; and 
         specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers, as determined, for the dry system having a dry design area the same as the wet design area for the wet system, the dry system including—
 a water supply source to provide sufficient water flow rate to a network of pipes so as to maintain a preselected density under National Fire Protection Association Standards 13 and 13R for a predetermined duration; 
 a single control valve; 
 a dry pipe valve; and 
 a network of pipes to be filled with a gas when the residential sprinklers are in an unactuated condition so that the pipes are dry. 
 
       
      
     
     
      
       5. The method of one of  claims 1 ,  3  and  4 , wherein the specifying comprises: 
       
         identifying at least one type of residential fire sprinkler to be used in the dwelling unit; 
         identifying a plurality of protection areas to be protected by the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler in the dwelling unit, each of the plurality of protection areas includes at least one of a generally flat, sloped or beamed ceiling and has a dimension of X by Y, wherein X is any value from 10 feet to 20 feet and Y is any value from 10 feet to 24 feet, wherein the plurality of protection areas is related to at least one of the following—
 (a) spacing between any two of the at least one type of residential fire sprinklers; 
 (b) a type of ceiling over a protection area; 
 (c) rated K-factor of the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler; 
 (d) minimum flow rate per sprinkler; 
 (e) pressure of fluid being supplied to the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler; and 
 (f) temperature at which the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler activates; and 
 
         identifying a plurality of minimum flow rates and residual pressures for a respective one of a plurality of protection areas. 
       
      
     
     
      
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the minimum flow rate comprises at least one of: 
       
         (a) a plurality of flow rates for a pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.9 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a horizontal ceiling with a maximum rise of two inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 15 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 17 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 20 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; 
         (b) a plurality of flow rates for a sidewall type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of protected areas, the plurality of flow rates including about at least 12 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144 square feet; about at least 16 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 196 or 256 square feet; about at least 19 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 288 square feet; or about at least 23 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 320 square feet; 
         (c) a plurality of flow rates for a pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a horizontal ceiling with a maximum rise of two inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 13 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; 
         about 18 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 22 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; 
         (d) a plurality of flow rates for a pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a sloped ceiling with a maximum rise of eight inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 17 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 19 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 24 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; and 
         (e) a plurality of flow rates for two pendent type sprinklers each with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to respective dry pipes of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a sloped ceiling with a maximum rise of eight inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 14 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; or about 18 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet. 
       
      
     
     
      
       7. A method comprising: 
       
         identifying fire protection information for a residential dwelling unit as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, the fire protection information including—
 at least one type of residential fire sprinkler for each of the plurality of protected areas including a rated K-factor for the fire sprinkler; 
 a plurality of areas to be protected in the dwelling unit, each of the plurality of protection areas includes at least one of a generally flat, sloped or beamed ceiling and has a dimension of X by Y, wherein X is any value from 10 feet to 20 feet and Y is any value from 10 feet to 24 feet, wherein the plurality of protection areas is related to at least one of the following
 (a) type of ceiling over the design protection area; 
 (b) spacing between any two of the at least one type of residential fire sprinklers; 
 (c) rated K-factor of the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler from nominally 4 to 6; 
 (d) minimum flow rate per sprinkler; 
 (e) pressure of fluid being supplied to the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler; and 
 (f) temperature at which the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler activates; and 
 
 a plurality of minimum flow rates and residual pressures to identify a hydraulic demand for a wet pipe system based upon hydraulic demand design criteria including a wet design area for the wet system designed under guidelines set forth by at least one of 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R so as to define a hydraulic demand for a dry pipe system configured to protect the plurality of areas, the hydraulic demand of the dry system being the same as hydraulic demand of the wet pipe system; and 
 
         directing a user to design a dry pipe residential fire protection system having a dry design area such that the dry design area of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet design area of the wet pipe system. 
       
      
     
     
      
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the minimum flow rate comprises at least one of: 
       
         (a) a plurality of flow rates for a residential pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.9 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a horizontal ceiling with a maximum rise of two inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 15 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 17 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 20 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; 
         (b) a plurality of flow rates for a residential sidewall type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of protected areas, the plurality of flow rates including about at least 12 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144 square feet; about at least 16 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 196 or 256 square feet; about at least 19 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 288 square feet; or about at least 23 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 320 square feet; 
         (c) a plurality of flow rates for a residential pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a horizontal ceiling with a maximum rise of two inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 13 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 18 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 22 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; 
         (d) a plurality of flow rates for a residential pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a sloped ceiling with a maximum rise of eight inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 17 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 19 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 24 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; and 
         (e) a plurality of flow rates for two residential pendent type sprinklers each with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to respective dry pipes of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a sloped ceiling with a maximum rise of eight inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 14 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; or about 18 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet. 
       
      
     
     
      
       9. A process of installing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, the process comprising: 
       
         determining a dry design area of a dry pipe residential fire protection system design including a dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system; 
         determining a wet design area of a wet residential fire protection system including a wet hydraulic demand of the wet system; 
         specifying that the dry design area of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet design area of the wet pipe system; 
         specifying that the dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet hydraulic demand of the wet system; and 
         installing a plurality of residential sprinklers interconnected by a network of pipes filled with a gas and connected to a fluid supply by a control valve, the sprinklers being spaced apart so that a plurality of hydraulically remote sprinklers define an actual dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system that is the same as the specified dry hydraulic demand; 
         wherein the fluid supply satisfies the actual dry hydraulic demand within a maximum water delivery time of 15 seconds. 
       
      
     
     
      
       10. The process of  claim 9 , wherein installing the plurality of residential sprinklers includes installing at least one of (a) a vertically-oriented and (b) a horizontally-oriented residential sprinkler satisfying actual fire tests in accordance with UL Standard 1626 (October 2003). 
      
     
     
      
       11. The process of  claim 9 , wherein determining the wet design area includes determining the number and location of a plurality of listed residential sprinklers under guidelines set forth by 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, and wherein installing the plurality of residential sprinklers includes installing a number of dry pipe residential sprinklers that is equivalent to a number of listed residential sprinklers of the wet system. 
      
     
     
      
       12. A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R, the method comprising: 
       
         determining design parameters for a design protection area for each of a wet residential fire protection system and the dry pipe system based on a lead criterion, wherein the lead criterion is selected from a set of design parameters including (a) a type of at least one type of residential fire sprinkler, (b) a type of ceiling over the design protection area, (c) maximum coverage area, (d) maximum spacing between sprinklers, (e) spacing between the ceiling and a sprinkler deflector, (f) minimum flow rate per sprinkler, (g) pressure of fluid being supplied to the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler, and (h) temperature at which the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler activates; and 
         specifying the design parameters of the dry pipe system to be the same as the wet system. 
       
      
     
     
      
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler includes at least one of: 
       
         (a) a rated K-factor from nominally 4 to 6; 
         (b) an upright residential fire sprinkler; 
         (c) a pendent residential fire sprinkler; and 
         (d) a sidewall residential fire sprinkler; and 
       
       the set of design parameters for the design protection area includes at least one of:
 (a) which specific sprinklers are suitable for use with an equivalent number of sprinklers for wet or dry residential fire sprinklers; 
 (b) which types of ceilings are consonant with the specified sprinkler; 
 (c) specified coverage areas for each type of ceiling over a protection area; and 
 (d) a flow rate and residual pressure for each specified coverage area for each type of ceiling over a protection area; for each of the wet or dry pipe systems. 
 
      
     
     
      
       14. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the type of residential fire sprinkler includes at least one of an upright residential fire sprinkler, a pendent residential fire sprinkler, and a sidewall residential fire sprinkler. 
      
     
     
      
       15. The method of  claim 12 , further comprising: 
       
         tabulating the design parameters for the design protection area for each of the dry pipe and wet systems consonant with the at least one criterion; and 
         communicating the design parameters for the design protection area for each of the dry pipe and wet systems consonant with the at least one criterion, wherein communicating the design parameters includes at least one of:
 (a) a wireless electronic communication medium; 
 (b) a hard-wired electronic communication medium; and 
 (c) an indicia medium. 
 
       
      
     
     
      
       16. A residential dwelling unit fire protection system, comprising: 
       
         a dry design area and a dry hydraulic demand for a dry pipe residential fire protection system that is the same as a wet design area and a wet hydraulic demand for a wet residential fire protection system of the residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined under 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R; and 
         a plurality of residential sprinklers satisfying actual fire tests in accordance with UL Standard 1626 (October 2003) with a flow rate provided within 15 seconds of actuation. 
       
      
     
     
      
       17. The system of  claim 16 , further comprising: 
       
         a water supply source; 
         a network of pipes to be filled with a gas when the plurality of residential sprinklers is in an unactuated condition so that the pipes are dry; and 
         a dry pipe valve separating the network of pipes to be filled with the gas from the water supply source; 
         wherein the water supply source provides the water flow rate to the network of pipes so as to maintain a preselected density under National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R for a predetermined duration. 
       
      
     
     
      
       18. The system of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of residential sprinklers includes at least one of (a) a vertically-oriented residential sprinkler and (b) a horizontally-oriented residential sprinkler. 
      
     
     
       19. A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, the method comprising:
 determining a minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers required to determine a hydraulic demand calculation of the residential fire sprinklers of a piping network filled with water and arranged to protect the plurality of compartments, wherein the determining a minimum quantity and location includes determining a wet design area; and   specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers, as determined for the dry system having a dry design area that is the same as the wet design area and a network of pipes filled with a pressurized gas consisting of air, nitrogen or a combination thereof, the residential sprinklers each having a body with an inlet, an outlet defining a passageway between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis, a deflector affixed to the body so as to be spaced from and generally aligned with the outlet and the sprinkler axis, a closure positioned proximate the outlet and a heat responsive trigger to retain the closure proximate the outlet and occlude the passageway so that the passageway is filled with the pressurized gas when the residential sprinkler is coupled to the network of pipes and the heat responsive trigger is in an unactuated condition.    
     
     
       20. The method of claim 19, wherein the determining includes: defining a magnitude of pressure and flow rate of a fluid supply source in the wet pipe fire sprinkler system, wherein the flow rate includes a flow of water selected from a group of flow rates consisting of 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 gallons per minute; and selecting residential fire sprinklers at a nominal rated K-factor selected from a group consisting of 3.0, 3.9, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.7, 4.9, 5.5 and 5.6; and wherein the specifying includes calculating the hydraulic flow rate of the selected residential fire sprinkler from the fluid supply source to the selected residential fire sprinkler to determine whether the selected fire sprinkler, up to a maximum of four, within a compartment of the residential dwelling unit, requires the highest hydraulic flow rate.  
     
     
       21. A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standard 13D, the method comprising:
 determining a wet design area of a wet pipe fire sprinkler system and a minimum number of residential fire sprinklers based on a hydraulic demand calculation of all residential fire sprinklers up to two sprinklers within a compartment of the residential dwelling unit for the wet system; and   specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers, as determined, for the dry system having a dry design area the same as the wet design area for the wet system, the dry system including—a water supply source to provide sufficient water flow rate to a network of pipes so as to maintain a preselected density under National Fire Protection Association Standard 13D for a predetermined duration;   a single control valve;   a dry pipe valve; and   a network of pipes to be filled with a pressurized gas consisting of air, nitrogen or a combination thereof when the residential sprinklers are in an unactuated condition so that the pipes are dry, the residential sprinklers each having a body with an inlet, an outlet defining a passageway between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis, a deflector affixed to the body so as to be spaced from and generally aligned with the outlet and the sprinkler axis, a closure positioned proximate the outlet and a heat responsive trigger to retain the closure proximate the outlet and occlude the passageway so that the passageway is filled with the pressurized gas when the residential sprinkler is coupled to the network of pipes and the heat responsive trigger is in an unactuated condition.    
     
     
       22. A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13 and 13R, the method comprising:
 determining a wet design area of a wet pipe fire sprinkler system and a minimum number of residential fire sprinklers based on a hydraulic demand calculation of all residential fire sprinklers up to four sprinklers within a compartment of the residential dwelling unit for the wet system; and   specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers, as determined, for the dry system having a dry design area the same as the wet design area for the wet system, the dry system including—a water supply source to provide sufficient water flow rate to a network of pipes so as to maintain a preselected density under National Fire Protection Association Standards 13 and 13R for a predetermined duration; a single control valve; a dry pipe valve; and a network of pipes to be filled with a pressurized gas consisting of air, nitrogen or a combination thereof when the residential sprinklers are in an unactuated condition so that the pipes are dry, the residential sprinklers each having a body with an inlet, an outlet defining a passageway between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis, a deflector affixed to the body so as to be spaced from and generally aligned with the outlet and the sprinkler axis, a closure positioned proximate the outlet and a heat responsive trigger to retain the closure proximate the outlet and occlude the passageway so that the passageway is filled with the pressurized gas when the residential sprinkler is coupled to the network of pipes and the heat responsive trigger is in an unactuated condition.    
     
     
       23. The method of one of claims 19, 21 and 22, wherein the specifying comprises:
 identifying at least one type of residential fire sprinkler to be used in the dwelling unit;   identifying a plurality of protection areas to be protected by the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler in the dwelling unit, each of the plurality of protection areas includes at least one of a generally flat, sloped or beamed ceiling and has a dimension of X by Y, wherein X is any value from 10 feet to 20 feet and Y is any value from 10 feet to 24 feet, wherein the plurality of protection areas is related to at least one of the following—(a) spacing between any two of the at least one type of residential fire sprinklers; (b) a type of ceiling over a protection area; (c) rated K-factor of the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler; (d) minimum flow rate per sprinkler; (e) pressure of fluid being supplied to the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler; and (f) temperature at which the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler activates; and identifying a plurality of minimum flow rates and residual pressures for a respective one of a plurality of protection areas.    
     
     
       24. The method of claim 23, wherein the minimum flow rate comprises at least one of: (a) a plurality of flow rates for a pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.9 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a horizontal ceiling with a maximum rise of two inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 15 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 17 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 20 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; (b) a plurality of flow rates for a sidewall type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of protected areas, the plurality of flow rates including about at least 12 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144 square feet; about at least 16 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 196 or 256 square feet; about at least 19 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 288 square feet; or about at least 23 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 320 square feet; (c) a plurality of flow rates for a pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a horizontal ceiling with a maximum rise of two inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 13 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 18 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 22 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; (d) a plurality of flow rates for a pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a sloped ceiling with a maximum rise of eight inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 17 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 19 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 24 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; and (e) a plurality of flow rates for two pendent type sprinklers each with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to respective dry pipes of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a sloped ceiling with a maximum rise of eight inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 14 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; or about 18 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet.  
     
     
       25. A method comprising:
 identifying fire protection information for a residential dwelling unit as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, the fire protection information including—
 at least one type of residential fire sprinkler for each of a plurality of areas to be protected in the residential dwelling unit, the information including a rated K-factor for the fire sprinkler, each of the plurality of protection areas including at least one of a generally flat, sloped or beamed ceiling and having a dimension of X by Y, wherein X is any value from 10 feet to 20 feet and Y is any value from 10 feet to 24 feet, wherein the plurality of protection areas is related to at least one of the following—
 (a) type of ceiling over the design protection area; 
 (b) spacing between any two of the at least one type of residential fire sprinklers; 
 (c) rated K-factor of the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler from nominally 4 to 6; 
 (d) minimum flow rate per sprinkler; 
 (e) pressure of fluid being supplied to the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler; and 
 (f) temperature at which the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler activates; and 
 
 a plurality of minimum flow rates and residual pressures to identify a hydraulic demand for a wet pipe system based upon hydraulic demand design criteria including a wet design area for the wet system designed under guidelines set forth by at least one of 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R so as to define a hydraulic demand for a dry pipe system configured to protect the plurality of areas, the hydraulic demand of the dry system being the same as hydraulic demand of the wet pipe system; and 
   directing a user to design a dry pipe residential fire protection system having a dry design area such that the dry design area of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet design area of the wet pipe system, the dry pipe residential fire protection system having a network of pipes filled with a pressurized gas consisting of air, nitrogen or a combination thereof, the at least one residential fire sprinkler having a body with an inlet, an outlet defining a passageway between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis, a deflector affixed to the body so as to be spaced from and generally aligned with the outlet and the sprinkler axis, a closure positioned proximate the outlet and a heat responsive trigger to retain the closure proximate the outlet and occlude the passageway so that the passageway is filled with the pressurized gas when the residential sprinkler is coupled to the network of pipes and the heat responsive trigger is in an unactuated condition.    
     
     
       26. The method of claim 25, wherein the minimum flow rate comprises at least one of: (a) a plurality of flow rates for a residential pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.9 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a horizontal ceiling with a maximum rise of two inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 15 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 17 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 20 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; (b) a plurality of flow rates for a residential sidewall type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of protected areas, the plurality of flow rates including about at least 12 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144 square feet; about at least 16 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 196 or 256 square feet; about at least 19 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 288 square feet; or about at least 23 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 320 square feet; (c) a plurality of flow rates for a residential pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a horizontal ceiling with a maximum rise of two inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 13 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 18 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 22 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; (d) a plurality of flow rates for a residential pendent type sprinkler with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to at least one dry pipe of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a sloped ceiling with a maximum rise of eight inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 17 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; about 19 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet; or about 24 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 400 square feet; and (e) a plurality of flow rates for two residential pendent type sprinklers each with a rated K-factor of 4.2 when connected to respective dry pipes of the network of pipes in one of the plurality of design protection areas having a sloped ceiling with a maximum rise of eight inches per foot of run, the plurality of flow rates including about 14 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 144, 196, or 256 square feet; or about 18 gallons per minute for a protected area of about 324 square feet.  
     
     
       27. A process of installing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, the process comprising:
 determining a dry design area of a dry pipe residential fire protection system design including a dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system;   determining a wet design area of a wet residential fire protection system including a wet hydraulic demand of the wet system;   specifying that the dry design area of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet design area of the wet pipe system;   specifying that the dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet hydraulic demand of the wet system; and   installing a plurality of residential sprinklers interconnected by a network of pipes filled with a pressurized gas consisting of air, nitrogen or a combination thereof when the residential sprinklers are in an unactuated condition, the residential sprinklers each having a body with an inlet, an outlet defining a passageway between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis, a deflector affixed to the body so as to be spaced from and generally aligned with the outlet and the sprinkler axis, a closure positioned proximate the outlet and a heat responsive trigger to retain the closure proximate the outlet and occlude the passageway so that the passageway is filled with the pressurized gas when the residential sprinkler is coupled to the network of pipes and the heat responsive trigger is in an unactuated condition, the network of pipes being connected to a fluid supply by a control valve, the sprinklers being spaced apart so that a plurality of hydraulically remote sprinklers define an actual dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system that is the same as the specified dry hydraulic demand;   wherein the fluid supply satisfies the actual dry hydraulic demand within a maximum water delivery time of 15 seconds.    
     
     
       28. The process of claim 27, wherein installing the plurality of residential sprinklers includes installing at least one of (a) a vertically-oriented and (b) a horizontally-oriented residential sprinkler satisfying actual fire tests in accordance with UL Standard 1626 (October 2003).  
     
     
       29. The process of claim 27, wherein determining the wet design area includes determining the number and location of a plurality of listed residential sprinklers under guidelines set forth by 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, and wherein installing the plurality of residential sprinklers includes installing a number of dry pipe residential sprinklers that is equivalent to a number of listed residential sprinklers of the wet system.  
     
     
       30. A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R, the method comprising:
 determining design parameters for a design protection area for each of a wet residential fire protection system and the dry pipe system based on a lead criterion, wherein the lead criterion is selected from a set of design parameters including (a) a type of at least one type of residential fire sprinkler, (b) a type of ceiling over the design protection area, (c) maximum coverage area, (d) maximum spacing between sprinklers, (e) spacing between the ceiling and a sprinkler deflector, (f) minimum flow rate per sprinkler, (g) pressure of fluid being supplied to the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler, and (h) temperature at which the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler activates; and specifying the design parameters of the dry pipe system to be the same as the wet system, the at least one type of residential sprinkler to be coupled to a network of pipes filled with a pressurized gas consisting of air, nitrogen or a combination thereof, the residential sprinkler having a body with an inlet, an outlet defining a passageway between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis, a deflector affixed to the body so as to be spaced from and generally aligned with the outlet and the sprinkler axis, a closure positioned proximate the outlet and a heat responsive trigger to retain the closure proximate the outlet and occlude the passageway so that the passageway is filled with the pressurized gas when the residential sprinkler is coupled to the network of pipes and the heat responsive trigger is in an unactuated condition.    
     
     
       31. The method of claim 30, wherein the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler includes at least one of: (a) a rated K-factor from nominally 4 to 6; (b) an upright residential fire sprinkler; (c) a pendent residential fire sprinkler; and (d) a sidewall residential fire sprinkler; and the set of design parameters for the design protection area includes at least one of: (a) which specific sprinklers are suitable for use with an equivalent number of sprinklers for wet or dry residential fire sprinklers; (b) which types of ceilings are consonant with the specified sprinkler; (c) specified coverage areas for each type of ceiling over a protection area; and (d) a flow rate and residual pressure for each specified coverage area for each type of ceiling over a protection area; for each of the wet or dry pipe systems.  
     
     
       32. The method of claim 30, wherein the type of residential fire sprinkler includes at least one of an upright residential fire sprinkler, a pendent residential fire sprinkler, and a sidewall residential fire sprinkler.  
     
     
       33. The method of claim 30, further comprising: tabulating the design parameters for the design protection area for each of the dry pipe and wet systems consonant with the at least one criterion; and communicating the design parameters for the design protection area for each of the dry pipe and wet systems consonant with the at least one criterion, wherein communicating the design parameters includes at least one of: (a) a wireless electronic communication medium; (b) a hard-wired electronic communication medium; and (c) an indicia medium.  
     
     
       34. A residential dwelling unit fire protection system, comprising:
 a dry design area and a dry hydraulic demand for a dry pipe residential fire protection system that is the same as a wet design area and a wet hydraulic demand for a wet residential fire protection system of the residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined under 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R;   a network of pipes filled with a pressurized gas consisting of air, nitrogen or a combination thereof; and   a plurality of residential sprinklers satisfying actual fire tests in accordance with UL Standard 1626 (October 2003) with a flow rate provided within 15 seconds of actuation, the residential sprinklers each having a body with an inlet, an outlet defining a passageway between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis, a deflector affixed to the body so as to be spaced from and generally aligned with the outlet and the sprinkler axis, a closure positioned proximate the outlet and a heat responsive trigger to retain the closure proximate the outlet and occlude the passageway so that the passageway is filled with the pressurized gas when the residential sprinkler is coupled to the network of pipes and the heat responsive trigger is in an unactuated condition.    
     
     
       35. The system of claim 34, further comprising: a water supply source; and a dry pipe valve separating the network of pipes from the water supply source; wherein the water supply source provides the water flow rate to the network of pipes so as to maintain a preselected density under National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R for a predetermined duration.  
     
     
       36. The system of claim 34, wherein the plurality of residential sprinklers includes at least one of (a) a vertically-oriented residential sprinkler and (b) a horizontally-oriented residential sprinkler.