Water Pressure in Your Home

Water pressure is in essence the force that pushes water through your pipes and determines the strength of the flow you get from your taps or shower. There are several factors that can affect your water pressure ranging from the type of hot water system you have, to the height of your home to the number of points of use or appliances that use water. 

Low pressure can reduce the flow of water which is frankly a pain when using taps to fill the kettle or when trying to have a decent shower. Most heating appliances, kitchen and bathroom taps, water filter systems and showers will not work well below certain minimum pressure levels.

Low pressure in your home has a variety of causes. During peak usage times, for example in the mornings when the most water is being used at the same time, water pressure can be at its lowest. Infact you could experience lower water pressure when more people in your water supply zone are using more water than usual, for example in the summer when more people are using their hose pipes or swimming pools. Quite often water pressure can be adversely affected by bad plumbing, using the wrong size copper pipes, leakages, blockages or faulty equipment.

When considering buying a 3 way kitchen tap, shower filter or water filter system from Osmio Water, it is first advisable to get an understanding of the type of system you have at home.

When testing your pressure, note that at night time, when water usage is little or none, the standing pressure can go up by even up to 1 bar or more. In this case we recommend to use a pressure reducing valve. 

 

How to work out whether you have a high pressure or low pressure system

The flow chart below, starting from the left, will help you determine whether you have a high pressure or a low pressure system in your home.

 

General guide to getting the right system

3 Way Taps

If you have a low pressure system, i.e. the hot water is fed to the kitchen sink via gravity, then it may be that your 3 way tap would produce a lower flow rate than you were expecting. In this instance, it is advisable to call us to discuss before making a purchase. The amount of pressure at your tap can depend on how high the service reservoir or water tower is above your point of use.

 

Shower Filters

If you have an electric shower or very low pressure shower, then the Ecopure Eco-2 Shower Filter is the best product to use. All the other shower filters in our range would be be advisable, but having said that can work well in some instances.

 

Reverse Osmosis Water Filters

This type of water filter system needs a minimum of 40 psi of pressure to work correctly and a maximum of 100 psi. Where you have lower than 40 psi pressure you will find the amount of waste produced will be higher. This can be corrected by installing a self-regulating RO booster pump which will bring your incoming pressure to the correct levels.

 

Whole House Water Filter Systems

Our whole house systems are designed to provide a full flow with very minimal pressure loss so even with a very low pressure system, the difference in pressure and flow is unnoticeable
.