This Standard incorporates Amendment No. 1 (August 2010). The changes required by the Amendment are indicated in the text by a marginal bar and amendment number against the clause, note, table, figure or part thereof affected. Minor style changes have been made (for consistency) and any spelling mistakes have been corrected in this amended edition.
 
The objective of this edition is to include changes that reflect recent advances in technology and to refine the content for clarity and conciseness.

Changes to Sections 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12

(a) Sections 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12 have been revised.
(b) Permitted exceptions in Section 3 have been reduced to reflect safety and compatibility issues.
(c) Tables for sprinkler clearances in Section 5 have been expanded to include Light Hazard spray sprinklers.
(d) Concealed space protection has been revised to take into account potential changes during the life of the building.
(e) Requirements for systems interface alarm signals have been added to Section 8 to align with current practice.
(f) The design process for ordinary hazard in Section 10 has been simplified to align with the previously adopted approach in Section 9 particularly in regard to the number of sprinklers in operation.
(g) The principles for calculations in Section 12 remain unchanged, however, the determination of the design area has been simplified. An appendix has been provided to assist the designer with hydraulic calculations in preparing the graphical representation of supply and demand curves and includes worked examples.

Changes to Section 4

The restructured Section 4 discards the principle of graded water supplies. Instead, it  accepts a single town main supply meeting prescribed criteria, including the capability of simultaneously supplying specified hydrant flows, as the benchmark ‘reliable supply’.

Other acceptable sources of water supply are selected to equate to this reliability  benchmark. For example, when a town main supply requires boosting by automatic pumps in order to meet the specified flow and pressure demand, two parallel-connected full capacity pumps are required, one electric motor-driven and the other diesel engine-driven.

Where a higher degree of water supply reliability is required (in the case, for example, of a high-rise apartment building), Section 4 introduces the concept of ‘dual’ water supplies. ‘Dual’ water supplies are not ‘duplicate’ supplies, but are considered to be more reliable than single supplies. This is illustrated in the case of pump suction tanks which, as single supplies, may be 2/3 capacity (if provided with adequate automatic inflow) and supply two automatic full capacity pumps, one electric motor-driven and the other diesel engine-driven.

The corresponding dual water supply arrangement would involve two-pump suction tanks (each 2/3 capacity and not requiring automatic inflow) supplying two automatic full capacity pumps, one electric motor-driven and the other diesel engine-driven.

Changes to Section 11:

Section 11 has been significantly expanded based on full-scale fire test data with consequential cost reductions. It incorporates summary tables to simplify understanding of the expanded section.

Changes to Sections 7, 13 and 14:

(AS 2118.8, AS 2118.9 and AS 2118.10) have been included in this Standard, consistent with consolidating the AS 2118 sprinkler suite of Standards.

Section 15:

Consistent with the elements comprising design, installation and commissioning of automatic fire sprinkler systems, Section 15 addresses commissioning and acceptance testing of sprinklers and covers the hydrostatic pressure test, pre-test equipment checks, equipment tests and water supply tests. Personnel involved in the commissioning process have a commissioning check list to follow to ensure that, when complete, the system is ready for operation.

Appendix E:

Appendix E, Graphic representation of hydraulic characteristics, is a new addition and sets out a series of worked examples, in step-by-step format, plotting water supply versus demand for various field conditions. This appendix should be of considerable assistance when interpreting the detailed water supply requirements set out in Sections 4 and 12.

The suite of sprinkler installation systems and components, when completed, will  incorporate the current AS 4118 series and will comprise two sets, all within the AS 2118 designation, as follows:

AS 2118 Automatic fire sprinkler—Systems
Part 1: General systems requirements
Part 2: Drenchers
Part 3: Deluge
Part 4: Sprinkler systems for accommodation buildings not exceeding four storeys in height
Part 5: Home fire sprinkler systems (Supersedes ‘Domestic’)
Part 6: Combined sprinkler and hydrant systems in multistorey buildings

AS 4118 Automatic fire sprinkler—Components
Part 1.1: Sprinklers and sprayers
Part 1.2: Alarm valves (wet)
Part 1.3: Water motor alarms
Part 1.4: Valve monitors
Part 1.5: Deluge and pre-action valves
Part 1.6: Stop valves and non-return valves
Part 1.7: Alarm valves (dry)
Part 1.8: Pressure reducing valves
Part 2.1: Piping—General

Statements expressed in mandatory terms in notes to tables are deemed to be requirements of this Standard.

The terms ‘normative’ and ‘informative’ have been used in this Standard to define the  application of the appendix to which they apply. A ‘normative’ appendix is an integral part of a Standard, whereas an ‘informative’ appendix is only for information and guidance.

Originated as AS CA16-1939. Revised and redesignated in part as AS 2118.1-1995.