Villan, Ma.

Dulce Corazon BSCE-3

Assignment No. 4
COMPONENTS OF A BUILDING WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM
1. Building supply- or water service, is a broad water service conduit that transports
potable water to the building from the district or city water system or other source
of water.
2. Water Meter- required by most district water supply systems to calculate and
report the amount of water usage. It can be positioned near the street or inside
the building in a meter box situated on the pavement.
3. Building Main- a large pipe that serves as the principal artery of the water supply
system. It carries water through the building to the furthest riser.
4. Riser-a water supply pipe that extends at least one story vertically into the
building and carries water to the fixture branches.
5. Fixture Branch- a water source line that runs from the riser or main to the
attached fixture.
6. Fixture Connection- in a plumbing system, the fixture connection runs from the
fixture branch to the fixture, the terminal point of use. Usually, a shut-off valve at
the fixture junction is found in the hot and cold-water supply.
HOMERUN/ MANIFOLD DISTRIBUTION CONFIGURATION
All fixtures are fed from dedicated piping in this design, which runs from central
manifolds directly and unbroken. To ensure quick and effective distribution, the hot
water manifold should be situated in close proximity to the hot water source. All outlets
are fed from a standard manifold or two central manifolds (hot and cold) separately.
Since inline fittings are removed, pressure losses along the line are minimized, allowing
for some fixtures to minimize the piping size.
UPFEED DISTRIBUTION
To push water flow through the system, water pressure from the water supply
main is depended on. Located in the ground floor area which can go up to 5 floors
above. In order to push water flow, an upfeed plumbing supply depends on street
pressure.
Water must be supplied through a pumped-upfeed distribution system in tall
buildings. A pumped upfeed system is one in which water flows through pumps entering
the building that maintain sufficient water pressure throughout the structure enough to
operate any plumbing fixture.
DOWNFEED DISTRIBUTION
Water is pumped to elevated storage tanks in or on the building in buildings that
cannot be properly serviced to the top floor by an upfeed system, and the water is fed
back into the building by gravity. This method of gravity, fed from the upper to the lower
stories, is considered a system of downfeed distribution.
Water entering the building flows to storage tanks serving zones of about 10
floors each through pumps that develop sufficient water pressure to drive water. The
storage tanks are positioned above the zones they serve in order to create sufficient
pressure.
RIGID-PIPE DISTRIBUTION CONFIGURATION
Fixture branches extend from a riser or main to the individual fixture being
connected in a conventional rigid-pipe water distribution method. Usually, a fixture
branch is run behind the fixtures on the floor or in the wall.
References:
(Unknown). (2006). Design Guide - Residential PEX Water Supply Plumbing Systems
(Retrieved from:
https://www.huduser.gov/Publications/PDF/pex_design_guide.pdf)
Olivio, R. J. S, (2021). Introduction to Building Water Supply System. (Retrieved from:
https://www.coursehero.com/u/file/70881235/ES214B-Module-
2pdf/?justUnlocked=1#question)