Housing and Space Management

Housing And Space Management 3(2+1)

Lesson 24 : Water Supply System

Distribution System Within The House

• Domestic use includes water that is used in the home every day, including water for normal household purposes, such as drinking, food preparation, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, and watering lawns and gardens.
• House water-supply systems are intended to draw water from the exterior network and distribute it among consumers in a building.
• The boundary between the exterior distribution system and a house system is constituted by the first gate valve in the communication pipe past the exterior wall of a building. The communication pipe is a pipe between the supply main and the meter box.
• The meter box houses a water meter – a mechanical device used to measure the volume of water passing into the building – and valves used to shut off the water meter at the time of inspection.
• The pressure booster is used to raise pressure in the house system when the guaranteed pressure in supply main is lower than required to feed water too high-level and remote consumers.
• The storage tank takes water from the distribution system and releases it when needed for trouble – free operation in case of interruption in service or when the distribution system fails to maintain the pressure at the level required for house water supply.
• The lay-out of a house water-supply system, depends on the pressure available from the main and the required for normal functioning of the house system to ensure trouble-free operation.
• Laying out includes location of the piping position; Installation of fasteners; erection of the risers and distributing pipes; setting of water - dispensing fixtures.
• For trouble free operation, insertion of valves becomes essential - in branches feeding individual apartments or floors; in distribution pipes supplying flush tanks, flushing valves, shower water heaters and wash basins; on the inlet side of exterior hose taps and special purpose units. The valves serve to control the flow of water, and the water dispensing fixtures, to let the water out for direct use.
• Distribution networks are normally assembled from steel pipe sections connected by means of treaded or welded joints. If plastic piping systems are employed, it should be put together by specially trained workmen. Section of polyethylene pipe are, generally joined by welding, whereas PVC piping is assembled by means of adhesive bonded bell and spigot joints, In course of installation, care must be taken not to scratch, cut, crush or otherwise damage plastic pipes.
• According to the manner of installation, water dispensing fixtures may be divided into dock mounted, wall mounted and concealed types.





Distribution Network in Houses and Apartments



• Water from the main supply is immediately ready for your cold water needs. However, water for drinking should not pass through a storage tank as it may contain some impurities in stored water. Thus, branches usually run from raising main to the kitchen and other suitable points.
• Hot water supply is a separate provision. One pipe carries water from the cold water system to your water heater. From the heater, a hot water line carries the heated water to all the fixtures, out-lets, and appliances that require hot water. A thermostat on the heater maintains the temperature you select by turning the device's heating elements on and off as required.
• Hot water piping and Solar water distribution pipes are installed in the same way as cold water piping, except that it is jacketed for warmth keeping. Hot water pipe lines should preferably be laid exposed so as to facilitate inspection and replacement of rusty elements.
• Mixers taps are simply mixers are used to supply both hot and cold water. Three types of mixers are available in the market, namely, dual control mixers, single control mixers and thermostatically controlled mixers. In a dual control mixer, the cold and hot water supply has a valve head of its own.
• Water Pressures vary in distribution system. Water mains below the street level may operate at higher pressures, with a pressure reducer located at each point where the water enters a building or a house.
• Pressure in an urban water system is typically maintained either by a pressurized water tank serving an urban area, by pumping the water up into a tower and relying on gravity to maintain a constant pressure in the system or solely by pumps at the water treatment plant and repeater pumping stations