Pressure in the water supply network in the apartment

One of the most important indicators of the quality operation of the water supply system of a multi-storey building is the pressure level. Too low or, conversely, high water pressure in the water supply negatively affects the operation of plumbing fixtures and household appliances connected to the water supply system, and also entails a number of other problems. And if low pressure can be recognized by the weak pressure of the stream from the tap, then increased pressure will make itself felt by leaks and pipe ruptures. Each owner should have an idea of the number of bar pipes within his own apartment in order to take action in time and avoid many inconveniences.

What should be the water pressure in the apartment?

Let's start with the fact that water pressure is measured in bars or atmospheres. Since 1 bar is equal to 0.99 atmospheres, these units of measurement are considered conventionally equal. 1 bar (1 atm.) is capable of creating a column of water 10 m high.

There are documents that stipulate the minimum and maximum permissible pressure in the pipeline of an apartment building (SNiP 2.04.02-84, SNiP 2.04.01-85). Some of these standards relate to pressure at the entrance to a building, others - at the entrance to a separate apartment, the latter stipulate the amount of pressure in the intra-apartment wiring around plumbing fixtures. Let's find out what value should be in each section of the water supply system.

At the entrance of the water supply network to a one-story house, the pressure should be 10 m of water column or 1 atm. (1 bar). 4 m are added to each subsequent floor. Let’s make a calculation for a standard 9-story building: 10 + (4 x 9) = 46 m. This means that the inlet pressure should correspond to 4.6 atm.
The pressure in the water supply at the entrance to the apartment will already be below this value, since the water rises to the higher floors through a complex pipe system. For cold water the value should be in the range from 0.3 to 6 atm, for hot water - from 0.3 to 4.5 atm.
The water pressure level of plumbing fixtures must correspond to the following values: for a mixer installed on a washbasin - at least 0.2 atm;
for a toilet cistern - from 0.2 atm.;
for a bathtub faucet – from 0.3 atm.;
for a shower faucet - at least 0.3 atm.

Let's sum it up

The above information determines that there are no clear recommendations regarding pressures. Regulatory documentation only indicates the interval. But practice has allowed us to determine the following information:

Most often you can withstand 2 atmospheres. This is quite enough for a comfortable shower, to ensure the operation of a dishwasher or washing machine, and to solve many other problems.
In a suburban area, watering is carried out quite often. To do this, a flexible or rigid pipeline of sufficiently long length is laid. If it is planned to create such a system, it is necessary to ensure a pressure of at least 4 atmospheres.
When designing a system, not only the overall pressure indicator is taken into account, but also in individual areas. So, in order to comfortably simultaneously take water procedures, use a washing machine, wash dishes, water flowers and do other work, a pressure of within 1.5 atmospheres is ensured in each area.

If the recommended values are significantly increased, leaks inevitably appear at the junctions of individual system elements. Even using the most expensive equipment, this problem cannot be solved. Therefore, it is recommended to install a pressure gauge and elements that should relieve pressure. Pressure relief involves the removal of part of the water, so collectors should be installed.

In conclusion, we note that the water supply system is designed at the time of creating the project for the country house itself. Technical documentation allows you to calculate the length of pipes and select the most suitable location for installing various equipment.

Normal level

What pressure will allow you to use the water supply comfortably?

Just 2 bar is enough for everyday needs such as:

washing and showering;
washing dishes by hand or using a household appliance;
washable in a washing machine.

Some plumbing fixtures require a higher water pressure of 4 atm. Among them:

Jacuzzi bath;
shower cabin with hydromassage function.

Consequences of high blood pressure

If the pressure is too high - from 6.5 bar - the fittings and connections in the pipes suffer; at 10 bar they can easily fail and burst. Only welded joints and industrial-type fittings can withstand such high pressure. A pressure of 6–7 bar can also lead to malfunctions of highly sensitive plumbing fixtures and damage to ceramic valves.

Tip: when choosing mixers, taps, pumps and pipes, you should take into account the possibility of sudden pressure surges in the network, called water hammer. To avoid unpleasant situations in the form of accidents and flooding, it is necessary to purchase devices and elements for installation in a system with an increased safety margin: in normal operation they must withstand 6 atm, but be designed for a short-term increase in pressure up to 10 atm.

Some features of autonomous water supply systems

Those water supply networks that operate from wells or wells, that is, are autonomous from the central water supply, have some features regarding the pressure created:

There is a need to lift water from a well or well;
It is necessary to ensure normal pressure at different points in the catchment area, as well as at points at different heights.

Autonomous water supply diagram

Autonomous water supply systems also have two main problems, which are exactly opposite to each other:

The well's reserve is not capable of not only increasing the pressure, but even maintaining it in normal condition. This means that for the average family with its daily water consumption, there is simply not enough water. Therefore, at first the pumps pump liquid through the system and create normal pressure, but over time it weakens;
There is more than enough water in the well. Therefore, pumps constantly pump water and can create pressure that significantly exceeds what is necessary, up to 6 atmospheres, which can lead to leaks in the water supply. In addition, high pressure leads to increased wear of all elements of the water supply sieve.

Advice! Solving the second problem is quite simple. You just need to choose the right pump, the power of which will take into account your daily water consumption.

But to increase the pressure you will have to do more difficult work.

Causes of low blood pressure

Pipe clogging with small debris and deposits on the inner surface, reducing the flow diameter. To eliminate this problem, you will need to replace the risers and intra-apartment wiring.
The coarse filter is clogged or the inlet valve is not fully open. In this case, it is necessary to check the valve and filters. It may be enough to just replace the mesh on the filter so that the water flows as usual.
Burst of a city water pipe. In this case, apartment residents cannot do anything; they can only wait for city services to restore the integrity of the water supply network.
An increase in water intake by residents of the house is usually observed in the evening and morning hours, when the water supply is especially actively used.
Malfunction of the pump at the distribution station or poor supply of electricity to it.

If you are no longer satisfied with the water pressure, try to first determine the reason for its decrease.

Ask your neighbors on the landing if they have problems with pressure. If everything is fine with them, then the reason is not a violation of the public water supply.
Forgive your riser neighbors who live on the floor above and below. This way you will know if the problem is related to a separate riser. If there are no complaints from your neighbors, you need to look for the reason in the wiring inside your apartment.
Compare the pressure in different rooms of the apartment - in the kitchen and in the bathroom, see if there is a difference between the flow of cold and hot water. Perhaps the problem is local in nature, and a certain section of the pipe is clogged.

Authorities responsible for water supply

Before contacting any authorities regarding poor water pressure, you must make sure that the reason for this is not the device being clogged with lime or other deposits, equipment malfunction, etc.

If the reason is not the above, then if the pressure standards of the water supplied to the apartment building are not observed, you can contact the following organizations:

Useful article

If the management company does not respond to complaints in any way, you should contact higher regulatory authorities - the housing inspection, Rospotrebnadzor and the court. Read more in this article

to the management company (MC) on whose balance sheet this house is located. The management company, by definition, is an intermediary between the provider of life support resources for apartment buildings and the citizen who is the owner or tenant of housing in a given house. The following must be done:
1. write an application to the Criminal Code describing the problem, with demands to eliminate the violation of water supply standards and recalculate the cost of paid housing maintenance services,
to expect the problem to be resolved, management companies are required to consider the complaint no later than 1 month after its acceptance.

to the city administration department, if the measures on the filed complaint were not timely considered by the Criminal Code . When contacting the administration, you should write a new application and attach to it a second copy of the complaint previously sent to the Criminal Code.

How to increase blood pressure

If all measures to stabilize constant low pressure, such as contacting the housing office or replacing intra-apartment wiring and filters, do not produce results, you can resort to installing special equipment. There are two ways to increase pressure:

Connecting a circulation pump that increases the pressure by drawing in water. This is an excellent solution for an apartment: the device is small in size and can be installed in the water supply in front of water access points.
Installation of a pumping station. Despite the advantage of such equipment in terms of power, this option has serious disadvantages: the station requires special approval and takes up a lot of space.

How to measure?

In order to choose the optimal method of regulating the pressure in the water supply, it is necessary to accurately determine its value. For these purposes, a water pressure gauge is used, installed on a section of pipe near the entrance of the water supply system to the apartment.

To measure pressure in plumbing fixtures you will need:

pressure gauge;
thread extension;
1/2 inch adapter;
fum tape.

Connect all the parts together, unscrew the shower head from the shower hose and screw in the improved pressure gauge. Open the water, wait for the air to come out of the hose and observe the readings of the device.

Important! When measuring pressure, you need to take into account the fact that at different times of the day, due to changes in the intensity of water intake, the pressure may be different. Take readings 4 times a day for a week, only this way the data obtained will show a more or less accurate picture.

Why do you need to know?

Knowing the exact pressure of water supplied to the apartment is necessary for:

preventing failure of valves and couplings of plumbing equipment, breakdown of household appliances due to increased water pressure;
finding the cause of failure in the operation of household and plumbing appliances with reduced water pressure;
connecting new household and plumbing fixtures with increased water consumption.

You can learn about the requirements for drinking water quality according to SanPin from our article.