Boosting the flow and pressure from a home’s incoming mains supply can drastically improve the performance of taps, showers, baths, and many other outlets across the whole home. Ken Vance, Training Manager at Salamander Pumps, explains what your customers will need to know when it comes to boosting mains water.
Thousands of households across the UK suffer from low water pressure and flow, yet few homeowners are unaware that it is possible to improve existing water pressure in their home, according to a survey conducted by Salamander Pumps in 2018.
Aiming to create a simple solution to boosting mains water pressure and flow for plumbers, Salamander Pumps has launched its new MainsBooster range. Comprising 11 different products, the MainsBooster range provides a quiet, lightweight and easy-to-install solution to all domestic and light commercial mains water boosting needs.
What causes low water pressure?
Low water pressure in a home can be caused by a variety of factors — from the plumbing system, to the time of day. If a home has a mains fed combi boiler or unvented cylinder, it’s very common for water pressure to fluctuate during the day. During peak times before and after work, often the whole street will see a drop in water pressure as the demand from residents increases.
Another cause of low water pressure could be from faulty and old plumbing fixtures. One example of this is mineral build up within the pipes. In areas of the UK with hard water, over time limescale deposits can collect inside the pipework, reducing the room within the fittings for water to move through, therefore reducing the flow.
What do Government regulations allow?
There is a general misconception that you cannot boost your mains water due to the Water Regulations of 1999, but actually there is an effective way to improve water pressure and flow in the home.
Government regulations state that pumped mains water must not exceed 12 litres per minute (l/m), but during busy times of the day many households experience flow much below this and there are products available on the market that allow a home to increase its water pressure and flow to up to 12 l/m, including Salamander Pumps’ CombiBoost and HomeBoost inline pumps.
HomeBoost is an intelligent, WRAS-approved, inline pump, which is attached directly to a home’s existing mains water supply and works by monitoring the water flow through the pump, only kicking into action when needed.
When the pump recognises that flow is less than 12 l/m it will boost the water flow up to this limit. However if the flow naturally rises above this, the pump will enter standby mode, neither assisting nor restricting the flow, meaning it fully complies with the regulations.
Alternatively, CombiBoost is designed to boost mains flow to up to 10 l/m. This pump is again fitted directly onto the incoming mains supply, and is more suitable for smaller households and combi boilers which are looking to improve their water performance.
Boosting beyond 12 l/m
For larger homes, multiple bathrooms, and larger installations with a greater water demand, 12 l/m may not be sufficient to run multiple showers and outlets simultaneously. In these situations, a greater flow and pressure across the home is needed, meaning homes will need to store water at pressure, so as to remain within the water regulations.
To achieve this, a home can have an accumulator tank installed. Depending on the size of tank, these can provide flow of up to 36 l/m per tank.
AccuBoost, Salamander’s new range of accumulator tanks, has been designed to provide a simple, easy to specify solution to mains water boosting needs. Consisting of nine different models, the accumulator tanks store mains cold water at pressure, before releasing the water into the system when an outlet is opened.
The AccuBoost range comprises five different sizes; 60l, 120l, 180l, 300l, 450l, with all sizes available as pumped or unpumped, with the exception of the 60l which is pumped only. These tanks can provide homes with flow rates higher than 12 l/m, whilst still complying with UK water regulations.
Plumbers should choose pumped models when mains water flow is less than 12 litres per minute or static pressure is less than 2.0 bar. The tanks also provide the option to link multiple together, depending on the space available in the home, and the required demand.
For more information on boosting mains water pressure, product information and easy to use specification support click here: https://www.salamanderpumps.co.uk/mainsboost.php
