We find that warehouse owners and property managers are often unaware of how much can be saved in annual maintenance and CAPEX by decommissioning or omitting heaters that were typically required by code to maintain 40 F in their warehouse (reference NFPA 13 Chapter 8). This standard is enforced by the City of Houston and other jurisdictions as adopted by the local fire code to ensure that the fire safety systems such as sprinklers do not freeze during cold weather. The current edition of NFPA 13, however, now allows for this provision to be addressed via calculations by a licensed engineer that can demonstrate freezing conditions should not be encountered within the sprinkler system given that the building insulation is sufficient and the ambient winter conditions are not typically severe (looking at you, Texas). This thermal analysis must be performed by engineers specializing in transient, higher-order heat transfer calculations. StateSpace Engineering has innovated this technique for warehouse applications and our permitting specialist team was among the first to successfully obtain a heater removal permit in the City of Houston. Let us evaluate your space today and see if your warehouse is a good candidate for the safe removal of your heat generation systems.
Unit heaters and heating cable are often used in cold weather locations to prevent sprinkler systems from freezing.