hOW TO CHOOSE A BOOSTER SET CORRECTLY
OVERVIEW
What is a mains water booster set? How does it work? Which booster set is right for you? These are common questions that often come up when you need to increase the pressure to your premises. This article aims to answer your most common questions about water boosting systems and give you the information you need to make an informed decision on your purchase.
What is a mains water booster set?
A mains water booster set is a system that enables you to increase the volume and pressure of water incoming into your property. If you suffer from poor water flow at your showerheads or faucets, it’s likely you are suffering from poor water pressure. This can have a big impact on simple daily tasks from brushing your teeth and taking a bath, through to household jobs like washing your car from an outside tap.
Water booster pumps come in all shapes and sizes, from single pump systems that fit neatly into washrooms, attics, and cellars. Through to large triple pump systems aimed at commercial or industrial application. Due to the large amount of options on the market it can be pretty overwhelming when trying to understand what unit is right for your application.
Before we look at how to choose a water booster pump, you need to understand why you have low water pressure in your home and how a booster pump works.
What causes low water pressure?
- Distance From Water Source
The most common culprit for poor water pressure is likely to be the distance from the originating water source. If your business or home is located far from the end of a water supply line, the water flow will reach you at a low pressure.
- Gravity
Gravity also plays a crucial role in determining water flow as this will either slow down or drive water flow. Understanding that if the water is to be delivered at a higher point, the pressure will fall. This means that moving water up several floors or uphill is going to be a huge problem. Essentially, the higher the water needs to travel the more pressure will be required.
- Low water pressure from your water authority.
Sometimes, the fault might be with your local water authority. Low city or county water pressure means that you will also get low pressure in your home or building.
- Plumbing Issues
It could be possible that you are suffering from poor plumbing, this could be affecting your water pressure. Plumbing issues such as clogged pipes will greatly affect your water pressure.
How Does a water booster system work?
Water booster sets not only increase water pressure, but they also improve the flow rate in your property. Water booster sets in a similar fashion to an ordinary household fan, the pump has in impeller that spins at various speeds to match the required water flow and pressure.
Booster pumps contain core components such as the motor, inlet/outlet, impellers, and a pressure sensing device. Water gets in through the inlet, and goes out through the outlet after being moved by the impeller. The motor will spin the impeller to ensure that the water leaves the pump at high pressure to your property.
How to choose the right water booster pump?
One of the key determining factors when choosing a water booster set is understanding how many outlets will be drawing demand from the booster system. When sizing a system, we will ask you for the following information so we can begin to understand what size system you need and how much water storage is required: –
- How many baths are in the property?
- How many showers are in the property?
- How many wash basins are in the property (bathroom sinks)?
- How many toilets are in the property?
- How many sinks are in the property?
- How many washing machines are in the property?
- How many dishwashers are in the property?
- How many outside taps are in the property?
In addition to the above we will also need know how many floors are in the property as you will need to deliver water to the highest floor at an ideal pressure. Generally, this is 2 bar. However, as the water travels through the pipework to the outlet you will a reduction in pressure due to pipe losses. We factor this into our calculation when sizing the booster set.
Tank Types.
Booster systems also rely on a storage tank, that’s because a water booster set draws water from the chamber at a higher demand that what is available directly from the mains water supply. As an example, if your mains water supply was only producing 7 litres per minute, it would be impossible to draw 20 litres per minute directly from the mains supply. To get around this issue, booster systems use a water tank. As an example, the water tank would fill to the desired level at 7 litres per minute being fed by your mains water supply. The booster set would then draw water from this reservoir of water contained in the tank at the higher demand of 20 litres per minute.
Tanks can also be constructed of different materials, the two most common being GRP and MDPE. GRP tanks are normally more expensive as they are insulated, while MDPE tanks are non-insulated. They also tend to be more cost effective.
conclusion.
Buying the best booster pump for your home or business doesn’t have to be a complex or daunting task. If you take into consideration the above points, then we can easily determine the most cost effective solution for your application. You can also read more about booster sets here.