Patent Publication Number: US-2023149758-A1

Title: Fire sprinkler system for building management

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This application relates to the field of building management for fire sprinkler systems and, more particularly, to a fire sprinkler system having a control panel for monitoring one or more conditions and/or operations of life safety equipment. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Building management systems encompass a wide variety of systems that aid in the monitoring and control of various aspects of building operation. Building management systems include fire safety, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”), and/or security units that may be controlled by a common control station. The common control station is often co-located at the same building as the units and associated devices to be monitored. 
     Building owners and operators typically do not have visibility to the health of their fire sprinkler systems. In particular, fire sprinkler systems implemented in existing buildings have water contained in pipes that may be susceptible to freezing, especially for areas of the building that are not heated, which may be unoccupied or in generally warmer environments. Also, existing fire sprinkler systems may not know or recognize pressure drops within their piping networks, such as at a valve or other coupling for distribution of water to various rooms or areas within the system. Operational changes to the fire sprinkler system, such as temperature and pressure, may have significant negative consequences for the building owners and operators. 
     Technicians, including local fire inspectors, may perform regular on-site manual inspections and physical troubleshooting of an existing fire sprinkler system of a building in an attempt to avoid these negative consequences. Even so, such regular inspections may be unnecessary if the fire sprinkler system is in good condition, costing time and money for the building owner. In addition, such inspections may not prevent a fire sprinkler system from failing due to an unforeseen environmental condition where certain sections of the fire sprinkler system may be susceptible to freezing, causing a degradation in the pipe, or a pipe bursting. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a fire sprinkler system providing a smart services approach to building management. The fire sprinkler system includes specific sensors at pipes, valves and other components of the system to monitor pressure, temperature, corrosion, vibration, and other life safety conditions. The sensors are coupled to a control panel of a facility where the system is employed to detect characteristic changes to the fluids within the system components. For example, temperature sensors at pipe locations within the network may indicate freezing conditions of the contained fluids and pressures sensors at valve or other fluid coupling locations may indicate low pressure conditions of the distributed fluids. 
     Information detected by the sensors may be provided to an analytics application where analytics are applied to determine faults indications of system health. The fire sprinkler system identifies conditions within the existing fire sprinkler system that may impact the health of the system and pro-actively corrects such conditions automatically. For example, the fire sprinkler system may include one or more remote devices, such as in the cloud, for monitoring and controlling the health of the fire sprinkler system, thus improving life safety and preventing failure of the system. The remote monitoring capability for the fire sprinkler system protects a facility from expensive damages due to undetected failures or other conditions of importance of the system. 
     One aspect is a fire sprinkler system for building management comprising multiple life safety equipment, multiple sensors positioned proximal to the life safety equipment, and a remote analytics unit communicating directly or indirectly with the sensors via a multi-location network. The life safety equipment include a fluid pump, a fluid pipe section, and a fluid coupling section. The sensors detect a fluid characteristic within a particular equipment of the life safety equipment. The remote analytics unit receives data based on the fluid characteristics detected at the sensors and determines a fault condition associated with one or more equipment based on the fluid characteristic. 
     Another aspect is a method of a fire sprinkler system for building management. Life safety equipment are established in which the equipment include a fluid pump, a fluid pipe section, and a fluid coupling section. Sensors are positioned proximal to the life safety equipment in which each sensor detects a fluid characteristic within a particular equipment of the life safety equipment. The sensors communicate directly or indirectly with a remote analytics unit via a multi-location network. The remote analytics unit receives data based on the fluid characteristic detected at the sensors and determines a fault condition associated with one or more equipment based on the fluid characteristic. 
     Yet another aspect is a system for monitoring an existing fire sprinkler system installed in a building, the fire sprinkler system including a fluid pump and a fluid pipe network coupled to the fluid pump, the fluid pipe network having pipe components, the pipe components including pipe sections and at least one fluid coupling section. The system comprises temperature sensors and a remote analytics unit communicating directly or indirectly with the sensors via a multi-location network. Each temperature sensor is positioned proximal to a respective one of the pipe components of the fluid pipe network such that each sensor detects a temperature characteristic within the respective pipe component. The remote analytics receives data based on the temperature characteristics detected at the sensors and determines a fault condition associated with at least one pipe component of the existing fire sprinkler system based on the temperature characteristic. 
     The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. While it would be desirable to provide one or more of these or other advantageous features, the teachings disclosed herein extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned advantages. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers designate like objects. 
         FIG.  1    is an illustration of an environment in an example implementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein. 
         FIG.  2    depicts an example implementation of the fire pump room of  FIG.  1   , which includes the control panel. 
         FIGS.  3 A and  3 B  depict example implementations of select life safety equipment of  FIG.  2   . 
         FIGS.  4 A and  4 B  depict example implementations of other select life safety equipment of  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  5    is a block diagram of an example implementation of the control panel of  FIGS.  1  and  2   . 
         FIG.  6    is a block diagram of another example implementation of the control panel of  FIGS.  1  and  2   . 
         FIG.  7    is a block diagram of an example implementation of the remote analytics unit of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  8    is a flow diagram of an example analytics operation of the remote analytics unit of  FIGS.  1  and  7   . 
         FIG.  9    is a flow diagram of an example system operation of the fire sprinkler system of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  10    represents an example implementation of data associated with the sensor-collected information and analyzed by the remote analytics unit of  FIGS.  1  and  7   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various technologies that pertain to systems and methods that facilitate building management, particularly smart services, for a fire sprinkler system will now be described with reference to the drawings, where like reference numerals represent like elements throughout. The drawings discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged apparatus. It is to be understood that functionality that is described as being carried out by certain system elements may be performed by multiple elements. Similarly, for instance, an element may be configured to perform functionality that is described as being carried out by multiple elements. The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with reference to exemplary non-limiting embodiments. 
     The fire sprinkler system provides smart services for building management of one or more facilities. The system includes sensors provided at life safety equipment of a fire sprinkler unit to monitor pressure, temperature, corrosion, vibration, and other life safety properties. The sensors may be co-located with pipes, valves and other life safety equipment and coupled via wired or wireless link to a building automation controller, such as a control panel, at a facility where the fire sprinkler unit is employed. Sensor outputs may be provided to a remote analytics unit where data associated with the sensor-collected information is analyzed and various components of the fire sprinkler unit may be managed based on the data. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , there is shown an illustration of an environment in an example implementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein. In particular, the environment includes a fire sprinkler system  100  installed and configured at a facility  102 , such as a site of a building and/or one or more areas associated with the building. The fire sprinkler system  100  comprises life safety equipment positioned, installed, and/or configured for a facility  102  that includes a fire pump room  104 , one or more life safety-equipped rooms  106 , and a network management room  108 . The facility  102  may include other rooms, passages, and areas  110  that may benefit from the features of the fire sprinkler system  100 . For some embodiments, the fire sprinkler system  100  may operate independently or in conjunction with other building management equipment  112  associated with the facility. For example, the fire sprinkler system  100  may include emergency communications, such as a mass notification system, or utilize emergency communications of a building management system of the facility  102 . 
     The fire pump room  104  may include a control panel  114  (explained in more detail below in reference to  FIGS.  2 ,  5 , and  6   ) coupled to the sensors proximally positioned with life safety equipment to provide data based on the fluid characteristics detected by the sensors to a remote analytics site  116 . The control panel  114  may communicate with the remote analytics site  116  by a direct wired or wireless link  118  or by an indirect wired or wireless link  120  via the network management room  108 . More particularly, the remote analytics site  116  includes one or more remote analytics units  122  communicating with the control panel  114  via the direct or indirect links  118 ,  120 . The remote analytics unit  122  communicates directly or indirectly via a multi-location network  124  with sensors coupled to the control panel  114  and located at the fire pump room  104 . For some embodiments, the remote analytics site  116  and remote analytics unit(s)  122  may be considered to be part of a Cloud network accessible by the control panel  114 . 
     The life safety-equipped room or rooms  106  may include fluid-based fire sprinklers  126  positioned at various locations and connected to each other by a fluid conduit  128 . Life safety fluid, such as water, may be provided to the fire sprinklers  126  by the life safety equipment of the fire pump room  104 , as monitored and/or controlled by the control panel  114 . For some embodiments, the life safety-equipped room(s)  106  may include non-fluid equipment  132 , such as dry chemical industrial suppression equipment, that operate independently or in coordination with the fire sprinkler system  100 . 
     The network management room  108  includes one or more network management stations  130  configured to manage the building management system of the facility  102 . As stated above, the control panel  114  may communicate the remote analytics site  116  by an indirect wired or wireless link  120  via the network management room  108 . For such embodiments, the control panel  114  communicates with a network management station  130  of the network management room  108 , and the network management station communicates with the remote analytics unit or units  122  of the remote analytics site  116 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  2    in conjunction with  FIG.  1   , there is shown an example implementation of the fire pump room  104 , which includes the control panel  114  of the fire sprinkler system  100 . The fire sprinkler system  100  for building management comprises life safety equipment including a fluid pump  202 , a fluid pipe section  204 , and a fluid coupling section  206 . The fire sprinkler system  100  also includes sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  positioned proximal to the life safety equipment in which each sensor detects a fluid characteristic within a particular equipment of the life safety equipment. 
     Examples of sensors include, but are not limited to, vibration sensors  208 , pipe temperature sensors  210 , and pressure transducers  212 . The fire sprinkler system  100  may include one or more vibration sensors  208 , one or more pipe temperature sensors  210 , one or more pressure transducers  212 , or a combination of these sensors. For some embodiments, the fluid pump  202  may include one or more vibration sensors  208  to detect abnormal behavior of the motor or pump of the fluid pump. The vibration sensor  208  may be positioned adjacent the fluid pipe section  204  in which the vibration sensor detects a motion characteristic associated with a fatigue failure condition of the fluid pipe section. It should be noted that a vibration sensor  208  may also be positioned at a fluid pipe section  204  or fluid coupling section  206  to detect and monitor vibration conditions that may cause cracks or leaks at the section, i.e., fatigue failure. Vibrations may be monitored based on movement amplitude, velocity, and other vibration property. 
     For some embodiments, a temperature sensor  210  may be positioned adjacent to an external surface the fluid pipe section  204  in which the temperature sensor detects an ambient temperature or temperature of the pipe in proximity to the fluid pipe section. For some embodiments, the temperature sensor  210  supplements an air temperature sensor distal from the external surface of the fluid pipe section  204 , such as an ambient room temperature sensor. For some embodiments, a pressure transducer or sensor  212  may be coupled to the coupling section  206  in which the pressure sensor detects a fluid pressure within the fluid coupling section  206 . For some embodiments, a corrosion sensor may be positioned adjacent to an external surface of the fluid pipe section  204  in which the corrosion sensor detects an energy differential associated with a corrosion condition within the fluid pipe section  204 . For some embodiments, the corrosion sensor emits and detects ultrasonic waves to detect a thickness of the fluid pipe section  204 . 
     A fire pump room  104  of fire sprinkler system  100  may include a fire pump controller  214  to manage and operate the life safety equipment, such as the fluid pump  202 , the fluid pipe section  204 , and the fluid coupling section  206 . For such embodiments, the control panel  114  of the fire sprinkler system  100  may be coupled to the fire pump controller  214 , the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  associated with the life safety equipment, or both. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  3 A,  3 B,  4 A, and  4 B , there are shown example implementations of select life safety equipment.  FIG.  3 A  illustrates how one or more vibration sensors  302 ,  304 ,  306  may be positioned on a fluid pump  202 . The fluid pump  202  may include a pump  308  having opposing bearings  310 ,  312  and an electric motor  314  driving the pump at one of the bearings. A motor vibration sensor  302  may be positioned at the electric motor  304 , a first pump vibration sensor  304  may be positioned at one pump bearing  310 , a second pump vibration sensor  306  may be positioned at another pump bearing  312 , or a combination of two or three of these sensors may be positioned at the fluid pump  202 . Each sensor  302 ,  304 ,  306  has a signal link  316 ,  318 ,  320  coupling the sensor to the control panel  114  and/or the fire pump controller  214 . Each sensor or combination of sensors  302 ,  304 ,  306  detect vibration, in millimeters per second or the like, at its particular position in order for the fire sprinkler system  100  to identify abnormal behavior of the fluid pump  202 . For example, if one sensor (e.g., the second pump vibration sensor  306 ) detects a vibration level of 5 mm/second at one bearing (e.g., the pump bearing  312 ) and the other sensor (e.g., the first pump vibration sensor  304 ) detects a vibration level of  20  mm/second at the other bearing (e.g., the pump bearing  310 ), then one or both bearings may be failing or there may be a misalignment with the electric motor  314 . 
       FIG.  3 B  is a pipe temperature sensor  210  to monitor temperature proximal to the fluid pipe section  204 . For the embodiment shown in  FIG.  3 B , the temperature sensor  210  may be positioned adjacent to an external surface the fluid pipe section  204  in which the temperature sensor detects an ambient temperature or temperature of the pipe in proximity to the fluid pipe section. For example, the temperature sensor  210  may be mounted to the external surface by a circumferential band  302 . In addition, the temperature sensor  210  is coupled to the control panel  114  and/or the fire pump controller  214  for communications via temperature sensor link  304  which, for some embodiments, may also include a power source connection to the sensor. Each temperature sensor  210  detects temperature at its particular position in order for the fire sprinkler system  100  to identify abnormal temperatures of the fluid pipe section  204 . For example, a detected temperature below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, or other temperature close to freezing or below, may indicate a potential fluid freeze and/or busting of the fluid pipe section  204 . 
       FIG.  4 A  is a closeup of a pressure regulating valve  400 . A three-way valve is typically used to couple to an installed pressure gauge since system operators attach a calibrated gauge to the three-way valve to compare with the installed pressure gauge to check its accuracy. For the fire sprinkler system  100 , the pressure transducer  212  and the installed pressure gauge  402  are coupled to the fluid coupling section  206 , and the pressure sensor detects a fluid pressure within the fluid coupling section. Calibration by a system operator may be accomplished by viewing the fluid pressure detected by the pressure transducer  212  at a remote device, such as a mobile communication device communicating with the control panel  114 , the network management station  130 , and/or the remote analytics unit  122 , and comparing it to the measurement shown by the installed pressure gauge  402 , i.e., self calibration. 
       FIG.  4 B  represents pressure transducers for a dry system  450  having a dry alarm valve  452 , such as one that may be used for a parking garage. For this example, an air pressure transducer  454  is shown at the left and a fluid pressure transducer or sensor  456  is shown at the right. The fluid pressure sensor  456  detects a fluid pressure within the fluid coupling section, i.e., the dry alarm valve  452 . If the air pressure transducer  454  detects an air pressure drop below a predetermined level, such as 10 PSI, then a notification signal may be generated to indicate a dangerously low level, in which the valve may trip, water may freeze, and/or the fluid coupling section may bust. For some embodiments, the dry system may include gauges  458 ,  460  corresponding to the air and fluid pressures of the dry alarm valve  452 . 
       FIG.  5    is a block diagram of an example implementation of the control panel controller  500 . The control panel  114  is coupled to the sensors and includes field configurable inputs to terminate fluid characteristic signals received from the sensors and a wireless communication component to transmits data based on the fluid characteristic signals to the remote analytics unit  122 . The remote analytics unit  122  provides a command to the control panel  114  to change an operation of one or more equipment based on the fault condition. For some embodiments, the remote analytics unit  122  provides a command to change an operation of one or more life safety equipment based on the fault condition. For some embodiments, the remote analytics unit  122  provides a command to change an operation of one or more building management equipment external to the life safety equipment based on the fault condition. 
     The control panel  114  comprises a housing  502  having a housing base  504  and a housing door  506  connected to the housing base. For some embodiments, the housing  502  includes a housing lock  508  for securing the housing door  506  to the housing base  504  when closed. The housing  502  further includes wiring  510  to connect electrical components of the housing base  504  to electrical components of the housing door  506 . 
     The control panel  114  is furnished with multiple field configurable analog inputs for termination of temperature, pressure, vibration velocity and dry contact signals. For some embodiments, the control panel uses  114  a private cellular network to transmit information to the remote analytics unit  122  and hold up to 48 hours of data while operating in stand-alone mode. The control panel  114  includes a control panel gateway  512 , which is a solid-state computer mounted on the housing door  506  of the control panel. The control panel gateway  512  has the capacity to maintain data of one or more sensors for a predetermined period of time, such as up to 48 hours, when operating in a standalone mode. The control panel gateway  512  also include ports for communication with the remote analytics unit  122  via a wireless link and/or for configuration, diagnostics, and integration of the control panel  114 . 
     The control panel  114  also includes an input/output module  514 , a power supply  516 , a circuit breaker and DC PS disconnect  518 , a protection dongle  520 , an AC terminal block  522 , a low voltage terminal block and ground lugs  524 , a wireless modem (eCumulus router, cellular communication)  526  coupled to gateway  512  via an ethernet cable, eCumulus router power kit, an external antenna  528  coupled to the cell modem  526 , a test mode push button  530 , an AC power outlet  532 , and a self-resettable 1A fuse  534 . 
       FIG.  6    represents example device components  600  of the control panel  114  comprising a communication bus  602  for interconnecting the other device components directly or indirectly, one or more communication components  604  communicating other entities via a wired or wireless network, one or more processors  606 , and one or more memory components  608 . The one or more processors  606  may execute code and process data received at other components of the device components  600 , such as information received at the communication component  604  or stored at the memory component  608 . The code associated with the control panel  114  and stored by the memory component  608  may include, but is not limited to, operating systems, applications, modules, drivers, and the like. An operating system includes executable code that controls basic functions of the control panel  114 , such as interactions among the various components of the device components  600 , communication with external devices via the communication component  604 , and storage and retrieval of code and data to and from the memory component  608 . 
     Each application includes executable code to provide specific functionality for the processor  606  and/or remaining components of the control panel  114 . An example of an application executable by the processor  606  includes, but is not limited to, a gateway module  610  to manage general operation of the control panel  114 , and a modem module  612  to operate communications with external devices, such as the remote analytics unit  122  and the network management station  130 . 
     Data, stored by the memory component  608 , is information that may be referenced and/or manipulated by an operating system or application for performing functions of the control panel  114 . Examples of data stored by the memory component  608  may include, but are not limited to, sensor data  614  collected by the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  and received by the control panel  114  and command/operation data  616  to change an operation, of one or more life safety equipment or one or more building management equipment external to the life safety equipment, based on the fault condition. 
     The device components  600  of the control panel  114  may further comprise Input/Output (I/O) interfaces  622  having one or more input components and/or one or more output components. The I/O interfaces  622  of the device components  600  may include one or more visual, audio, mechanical, and/or other components. A user interface  624  of the device components  600  may include portions of the input and output components of the I/O interfaces  620  and be used to interact with a user of the control panel  114 . For example, the user interface  624  may include a combination of hardware and software to provide a user with a desired user experience. The I/O interfaces  622  of the control panel  114  may include field configurable inputs to terminate fluid characteristic signals received from the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212 . 
     It is to be understood that  FIG.  6    is provided for illustrative purposes only to represent examples of the device components  600  of the control panel  114  and is not intended to be a complete diagram of the various components that may be utilized by each device. The control panel  114  may include various other components not shown in  FIG.  6   , may include a combination of two or more components, or a division of a particular component into two or more separate components, and still be within the scope of the present invention. 
       FIG.  7    represents example device components  700  of the remote analytics unit  122  comprising a communication bus  702  for interconnecting the other device components directly or indirectly, one or more communication components  704  communicating other entities via a wired or wireless network, one or more processors  706 , and one or more memory components  708 . The one or more processors  706  may execute code and process data received at other components of the device components  700 , such as information received at the communication component  704  or stored at the memory component  708 . The code associated with the remote analytics unit  122  and stored by the memory component  708  may include, but is not limited to, operating systems, applications, modules, drivers, and the like. An operating system includes executable code that controls basic functions of the remote analytics unit  122 , such as interactions among the various components of the device components  700 , communication with external devices via the communication component  704 , and storage and retrieval of code and data to and from the memory component  708 . 
     Each application includes executable code to provide specific functionality for the processor  706  and/or remaining components of the remote analytics unit  122 . An example of an application executable by the processor  706  includes, but is not limited to, an analytics module  710  to manage general operation of the remote analytics unit  122 , and a communication module  712  to operate communications with external devices, such as the control panel  114 , the network management station  130 , and/or the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212 . 
     Data, stored by the memory component  708 , is information that may be referenced and/or manipulated by an operating system or application for performing functions of the remote analytics unit  122 . Examples of data stored by the memory component  708  may include, but are not limited to, sensor data  714  collected by the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  and received by the remote analytics unit  122  and command/operation data  716  to change an operation, of one or more life safety equipment or one or more building management equipment external to the life safety equipment, based on the fault condition. 
     The device components  700  of the remote analytics unit  122  may further comprise one or more input components  718  and/or one or more output components  720 . The input components  718  and the output components  720  may include one or more visual, audio, mechanical, and/or other components. A user interface  722  of the device components  700  may include portions of the input and output components  718 ,  720  and be used to interact with a user of the remote analytics unit  122 . For example, the user interface  722  may include a combination of hardware and software to provide a user with a desired user experience. 
     It is to be understood that  FIG.  7    is provided for illustrative purposes only to represent examples of the device components  700  of the remote analytics unit  122  and is not intended to be a complete diagram of the various components that may be utilized by each device. The remote analytics unit  122  may include various other components not shown in  FIG.  7   , may include a combination of two or more components, or a division of a particular component into two or more separate components, and still be within the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG.  8   , there is shown a flow diagram of an example operation of the remote analytics unit  122 . Real-time diagnostics data is collected by the remote analytics unit  122 , such as data received directly or indirectly from the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212 . In response to receiving the data ( 802 ), The remote analytics unit  122  performs immediate corrective action ( 804 ), such as commanding a life safety equipment or other building management equipment to change operation based on a detected fault condition, if the fault condition is a type that may be corrected in this manner. For fault conditions still outstanding, the remote analytics unit  122  determines whether to notify a technician to the facility to investigate and address the outstanding fault condition ( 806 ). In response to determining that dispatch is required ( 806 ), the remote analytics unit  122  generates and transmits a dispatch &amp; repair authorization for processing ( 808 ) and await an indication of completion ( 810 ). An invoice is generated by an invoice management system ( 812 ) in response to determining that the task has been completed. If the remote analytics unit  122  determines that a technician to investigate and address the outstanding fault condition is not needed ( 806 ), then the remote analytics unit identifiers the outlier or outliers ( 814 ) and continues to collect and monitor incoming data ( 802 ). 
     Referring to  FIG.  9   , there is shown an example system operation  900  of the fire sprinkler system  100 . Life safety equipment are established in which the life safety equipment include a fluid pump  202 , a fluid pipe section  204 , and a fluid coupling section  206  ( 902 ). For example, the life safety equipment may be installed and configured at a facility  102 . Sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  may be positioned proximal to the life safety equipment in which each sensor detects a fluid characteristic within a particular equipment of the life safety equipment ( 904 ). For some embodiments, the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  may be positioned with or soon after establishment of the life safety equipment. For some embodiments, the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  may be installed and configure for existing life safety equipment previously installed at the facility  102 . 
     The smart services of the fire sprinkler system  100  may be activated ( 906 ) after establishment of the life safety equipment ( 902 ) and positioning of the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  ( 904 ). In response to activating the services ( 906 ), the sensors  208 ,  210 ,  212  may communicate directly or indirectly with a remote analytics unit  122  via a multi-location network  124  in which the remote analytics unit receives data based on the fluid characteristic detected at the sensors ( 908 ). In response to receiving the data ( 908 ), the remote analytics unit  122  may determining a fault condition associated with at least one life safety equipment based on the fluid characteristic ( 910 ). 
     For some embodiments, the remote analytics unit  122  provides a command to the control panel  114  to change an operation of one or more equipment based on the fault condition ( 912 ). For some embodiments, the remote analytics unit  122  provides a command to change an operation of one or more life safety equipment based on the fault condition. For some embodiments, the remote analytics unit  122  provides a command to change an operation of one or more building management equipment external to the life safety equipment based on the fault condition. 
     Referring to  FIG.  10   , there is shown an example implementation of graphical data  1000  associated with the sensor-collected information and analyzed by the remote analytics unit. The graphical data  1000  may be represented by a header  1010  describing the source or context of the data. For example, the graphical data  1000  may be shown in a browser window and based on a sprinkler system for a parking garage. The graphical data  1000  may be represented based on a certain time period  1020 . For example, the data may represent a time period from midnight of June 8 th  through midnight of June 11 th  in three hour increments. The graphical data  1000  may be presented in one or more forms. Examples of the presentation forms include, but are not limited to, fluid pressure (in PSI) for one or more locations  1030 , air pressure (in PSI) for one or more locations  1040 ,  1050 , pipe temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius) for one or more locations  1060 , and the like. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize that, for simplicity and clarity, the full structure and operation of all data processing systems suitable for use with the present disclosure are not being depicted or described herein. Also, none of the various features or processes described herein should be considered essential to any or all embodiments, except as described herein. Various features may be omitted or duplicated in various embodiments. Various processes described may be omitted, repeated, performed sequentially, concurrently, or in a different order. Various features and processes described herein can be combined in still other embodiments as may be described in the claims. 
     It is important to note that while the disclosure includes a description in the context of a fully functional system, those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least portions of the mechanism of the present disclosure are capable of being distributed in the form of instructions contained within a machine-usable, computer-usable, or computer-readable medium in any of a variety of forms, and that the present disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of instruction or signal bearing medium or storage medium utilized to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of machine usable/readable or computer usable/readable mediums include: nonvolatile, hard-coded type mediums such as read only memories (ROMs) or erasable, electrically programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), and user-recordable type mediums such as floppy disks, hard disk drives and compact disk read only memories (CD-ROMs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs). 
     Although an example embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, substitutions, variations, and improvements disclosed herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure in its broadest form.