Beyond Day One: How to Design a Pressure Boosting System for Future Demand

Commercial building water demands can change significantly over time. Renovations, changing occupancy, new tenants and added water-using equipment can all increase the flow and pressure a facility requires.

A pressure boosting system should be designed for more than current demand. Variable speed operation, scalable pump configurations, integrated controls and space-efficient designs can help a system adapt as water requirements change without requiring complete replacement.

Plan for Changing Building Water Demand

A building's water demand today may look very different five, 10 or 20 years from now. When sizing a pressure boosting system, engineers should consider both current requirements and how the facility could change over its service life.

Avoid Oversizing for Future Capacity

Installing an oversized system may seem like a simple way to prepare for future growth, but excessive capacity can create operating challenges. Pumps that regularly operate well below their intended range may cycle unnecessarily and consume more energy than needed.

Instead, modern pressure boosting systems can use variable frequency drives (VFDs) and integrated controls, which allow pumps to adjust speed based on actual water demand and accommodate a wider range of demand. This wider operating range helps the system respond to daily demand fluctuations while providing greater flexibility as building requirements change.

Design Pressure Boosting Systems for Expansion

Future growth does not necessarily need to mean replacing the entire pressure boosting system. A scalable packaged system can be designed so additional pumps, controls or other components can be integrated as demand increases.

Planning for expansion can help reduce future capital costs, limit downtime during upgrades, minimize disruption to occupants, make better use of existing infrastructure and simplify future system modifications.

Consider Mechanical Room Space

Available space can also affect long-term system flexibility. Mechanical rooms are often limited, making compact equipment and configurable layouts important considerations.

Factory-engineered packaged pressure boosting systems can integrate pumps, piping, drives and controls into a coordinated package. Configurable piping connections and installation orientations can also make it easier to fit equipment into the available mechanical space and accommodate future modifications.

Build Reliability into the System

Facilities that depend on continuous water service should also consider redundancy and pump sequencing. Multi-pump systems can maintain water service while an individual pump is being serviced or experiences an unexpected issue. Lead-lag operation and pump alternation can also distribute operating hours across multiple pumps rather than placing most of the workload on a single unit.

What to Consider When Selecting a Pressure Boosting System

When evaluating a packaged pressure boosting system, consider more than required flow and head:

• Can the system handle changing occupancy and water demand?
• Can capacity be expanded without replacing the entire system?
• Can variable speed controls respond to changing loads?
• Can individual pumps be serviced while maintaining water service?
• Does the system fit the available mechanical space?
• Will it continue operating efficiently across a wide range of demand?

Designing for Long-Term Flexibility

No one can predict exactly how a facility's water demand will change. Designing around scalable configurations, variable speed operation, integrated controls, redundancy and compact footprints can give a pressure boosting system greater flexibility to respond to those changes.

Rather than simply sizing for today's peak demand, engineers can consider how the entire system will perform, expand and be maintained throughout the building's life cycle.

Full-length version featured in the Pumps & Systems article, Designing Packaged Pressure Boosting Systems for Long-Term Flexibility.