How are booster pumps used? Booster pumps increase low water flow in water systems or industrial equipment and transport water from a lake, pond, or storage tank for use in a home or commercial building. A household that doesn’t receive enough pressure from the city water supply would need a pump to increase low water pressure. A hotel needs a large commercial booster pump to send water all the way to the top story.
A booster pump is also used to re-pressurize water from a storage tank and send it to a faucet or throughout a home. In a rain harvesting system, for example, water collects in a storage tank. In order to use it to flush toilets or wash laundry, the water must be pumped out of the tank and into the house. You would use a booster pump to move the water.
A home booster pump
A single water booster pump can boost water pressure throughout an entire house. Sometimes, well water users want to increase the flow from a low-recovery well to their home. Low-recovery wells don’t produce enough water to keep up with household demand. A water pressure booster pulls water from the well water storage tank to pressurize the water in the house.
A private well that does not produce enough water to keep up with demand requires a storage tank for the well to fill over time and a home booster pump from the tank to keep up with daily demand.
Booster pump with an expansion tank
An expansion or hydropneumatic storage tank can enhance a boosted system. The tank gives water extra room to go when it expands and prevents the booster pump from cycling on and off each time you turn the faucet on. Flow switch actuated pumps may hesitate on start-up. A small expansion tank prevents this hesitation. A larger tank holds a volume of water referred to as drawdown. This amount of water draws out of the tank before the pump turns back on. A larger tank can provide drawdown volumes in a private well system to significantly reduce pump cycles.
