Is this a code violation?

This is in our school hallways, and I noticed this sprinkler next to an air vent. Wouldn’t the heat over time have a risk of breaking the glass on the sprinkler head?

Wouldn’t there have to be constant heat on it that raises the temperature of it to its breaking point? It can’t just have direct heat on it then be cooled down.

[quote="Simplex 4051" post_id=81234 time=1533412742 user_id=18]

Wouldn’t there have to be constant heat on it that raises the temperature of it to its breaking point? It can’t just have direct heat on it then be cooled down.

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A residential forced-air furnace can get temperatures at the vents up to around 120 - 140 degrees, so in theory that’s enough to activate a sprinkler in the ordinary temperature class.

In reality, most commercial HVAC systems have independent heating units fed by steam or hot water, as such a large scale forced air system would be inefficient. The vents you see in the ceiling are more frequently limited to air circulation throughout the building as opposed to supplying any heat.

That being said, there are many industrial air handlers with heating and cooling functions, so it’s very possible that a variety of temperatures could be present at that diffuser. I would still imagine that the heat loss in a commercial system, even from a localized RTU, would result in a much lower output temperature than a residential system. In all likelihood, it probably wouldn’t be enough to mess with that sprinkler.

I figured it would be something like that because I’m pretty sure the installers know what they are doing.