Signs You Need A Water Booster Pump
In a home, water needs to be distributed effectively to faucets, toilets, showers and other plumbing fixtures with efficient pressure. Water pressure is simply the force that pushes water throughout the piping system to reach fixtures in the building or house. When people desire high water pressure there are many different ways to achieve it – one being installing a water booster pump.
Make Sure Low Water Pressure is Not Due to The Following Culprits:
Before installing a water pump, make sure the problem of low water pressure is not due to any of the following:
- Clogged pipes – common in older buildings (example: hard water build up resulting in calcium deposits)
- Undersized pipes – common in poor plumbing design (which produces same results as a clogged pipe)
- A partially closed shut off valve causing the pressure to drop (solution would be to just fully open it)
- A leak
If any of these reasons are why there may be low water pressure, installing a water pump would actually do damage to the existing plumbing work. If you’re unsure if you have low water pressure, take a look at our recent article 4 signs that you might have low water pressure, this will help give you more direction.
When You Need A Booster Pump
So let’s get into the most basic reason a booster pump needs to be installed: simply just poor or low water pressure. Another reason would be there is no water flow from faucets, or there is fluctuations in water pressure around the building/home.
There are a number of applications for water booster pumps, ranging from large buildings like hotels to smaller residential homes. While the application can vary, the booster pump’s purpose remains constant – to increase the pressure of water to all the plumbing fixtures in the building.
The need for a new water booster pump is partly determined by the characteristics of the building it would be going into – in terms of larger commercial buildings, the likelihood of needing a booster pump increases in taller buildings. Most of the time in a large building, like a hotel, there are multiple and larger water booster pumps, such as a duplex booster pump or triplex, from the bottom floor to the middle. This allows water to have acceptable pressure from the ground floor to the very top of the building. If you’re managing a hotel or a multi-family apartment building, and your guests or tenants that are on the higher levels are complaining about low water pressure, lack of a water booster pump system might be the reason why. Investing into the correct system will help alleviate this issue and should be investigated.
For residential, there can be a slew of reasons why you need a booster pump. A common reason we see is related to homes on town or city water. When your house is on town or city water your water pressure is affected by the number of homes that are on the same line. As more homes are built, the likelihood of your water pressure being affected increases as more homes are utilizing the water in that city or town water line. If you’ve noticed your water pressure decreased, and see that new homes have been put up around you, this could be the reason why and would require you to look into a water booster pump. In this situation, a simplex water booster pump would be a perfect fit.
Conclusion
If you have low water pressure, make sure to call the professionals to help you with a solution before purchasing a water pump – because it could be a simple and easy fix! Depending on the size of your building, there will be a different water pump size installed, but the purpose, to drive water to all plumbing fixtures with the same pressure, remains the same. At the end of the day, we’re the experts and welcome or a call to discuss your situation. You can also take a look at another recent article, how to know which water booster pump is right for you.