ᐅ Water Pressure in New Construction – Standards and Possible Improvements?

Created on: 19 Dec 2017 14:56
D
DReffects
Good day,

we recently had a single-family house built, and now the shower fittings are installed. Unfortunately, the water pressure is so low that the lady (and I a bit as well) have trouble getting the shampoo properly rinsed out.

The rain shower with massage function is more like a hesitant trickle. It’s not due to the showerhead itself; we tested by connecting the old showerhead from our rental apartment, and the water pressure is clearly lower here as well.

I have several questions:
- Is there a standard regarding water pressure?
- How can water pressure be measured? Possibly without removing the fittings...
- What options are there to increase the water pressure?

Thanks!
Mycraft19 Dec 2017 16:01
4 bar at the inlet is quite reasonable... I would look for the problem elsewhere...
DReffects19 Dec 2017 16:05
cschiko schrieb:
As toxicmolotow already mentioned, we are also at around 5 bar (72.5 psi). That’s acceptable, so just try it out with that first.

Well, not that the fittings will explode at 5 bar (72.5 psi)^^ Are there maximum values for that? Is pressure linear? So, is 4 bar (58 psi) twice the pressure of 2 bar (29 psi)?
Mycraft schrieb:
4 bar (58 psi) at the inlet is quite decent... I’d look for the problem somewhere else...

Apart from the filter – where else could there be restrictions here?
T
toxicmolotof
19 Dec 2017 16:10
Yes, pressure is linear. 1 bar = 10 m (33 feet) of water column.

If you want to be precise, the fittings should definitely have a certification indicating how much pressure they can withstand. The same should apply to the hot water system.

Personally, I wouldn’t worry about 5 bar. We once had 7 bar... Even the gentle shower felt like a scalp massage.
DReffects19 Dec 2017 16:12
toxicmolotow schrieb:
Personally, I wouldn’t worry about 5 bar. We once had 7 bar... Even the gentle shower felt like a scalp massage.

Thanks for the information! So far, with Grohe, I’ve only found that if the pressure exceeds 5 bar, a pressure reducer must be installed to prevent noise disturbance.

I’ll test it out – thanks for the help!
DReffects19 Dec 2017 16:19
The filter can be set up to a maximum of 6 bar, but the display only goes up to 5 bar. When using one appliance, the pressure drops to about 3.8 bar during operation. Phew, that is extremely disappointing...
K
Knallkörper
19 Dec 2017 21:14
Then the problem could be in the pipe leading to the house, or another shut-off valve before the filter is not fully open.