CHAPTER 3

PLUMBING SYSTEM

Credit to :
DR FARIDAH MUHAMMAD HALIL
DR. IRWAN MOHAMMAD ALI
Definition of Plumbing System
Plumbing system is the system of pipes, drains, fittings, valves and fixtures installed for the
distribution of portable water for drinking, heating, washing and for waste disposal.

Water Supply System

Water supply system in building consist of the following;
a) Cold Water System
b) Hot Water System

Water System Design in Building

The water system design in building follow the criteria as follow:
1) Assessment and estimation of demands
2) Supply scheme and Schematic
3) Water Storage requirements
4) Piping Layout
5) Piping Sizing
6) Pump System Design
The water system design must comply with Water Authority requirements.
 Assessment and Estimation of Demands
Assessment of the application from the users or clients should contain of the following;
a. Number of flats/units in each block of the building
b. Address of each premise needs individually metered water supply
c. Number of draw-off points and sanitary fittings in each unit
d. Estimated daily consumption for all trade purposes

However, for water demand depends on the followings;

a. Type of building and its function
b. Number of occupants, permanents or transitional (domestic, commercial and educational buildings)
c. Requirement for fire protection systems
d. Landscape and water features/

Typical Appliances Using the Cold Water

Typical appliances using the cold water system as follow;
a. Water closet, wash basin, bath, shower, sink
b. Washing machine, dishwasher
c. Urinal flushing cistern
The Engineer will design for each of appliances in terms of design flow rate (I/s), Minimum flow rate (I/s) and Loading
units.
 Water Storage or Tank
Water storage need to be install at the area of development and also in the building itself.
The purpose of the installation as follow;
•To provide for an interruption of supply
•To accommodate peak demand
•To provide a pressure (head) for gravity supplies
Design for water storage
•Type and number of fittings
•Frequency and patterns of use
•Likelihood and frequency of breakdown of supply (often design for 12 or 24 hour reserve capacity)

Recommended minimum Storage of Cold and Hot Water System

Figure 13 shows recommended of minimum water storage for cold and hot water system. Difference types of the
building have a difference standard of water storage for cold and hot water system.

Figure 13 shows recommended of minimum water storage for cold and hot water system
 System of Arrangement for Plumbing System in Building
• System of arrangement for plumbing system in building has been categories into two, which are;
a. Direct system
b. Indirect system
Direct system
• The system of water supply direct from the main to the kitchen. No storage system required.
Indirect System
• The system of water supply direct to the water tank. From the water tank, the service pipe will
distribute to the appliances in building. For high-rise the requirement for pump system is necessary to
flow the water at the highest level. Below types of pump use for distribution of water supply for high –
rise building.
▪ Sump and pump supply system
▪ Cascade sump and pump supply system
▪ Pneumatic booster supply ssytem
▪ Variable speed pumping supply system
▪ Top floor boosting supply system
▪ Gravity supply system
• Normal installation practice ,in urban area these system appllied for both direct and indirect
installation for housing.
High–rise Plumbing System
High –rise Plumbing System
•High-rise plumbing usually uses vertical piping systems in terms of water distribution and
drainage or venting system. The installation of piping system should consider of the followings;
Pressure distribution
•A suitable pressure distribution for the fixtures is usually not higher than 25 psi for water closet
and supplied with flush valve fixtures.
•The reason is to limit the water velocity below critical values for noise consideration and to avoid
erosion of piping, damage to fixtures and equipment and excessive equipment cost.
•The objectives of an engineer is to have a system where the pressure is controlled, usually by
either placing pressure reducing valves on each level where pressure exceeds the code maximum
or branching from the higher pressure riser to make a pressure zone.
•This pressure zone uses a central pressure-reducing valve and sub-riser to meet the minimum
pressure required at the highest level and the maximum pressure allowed at the lowest level. This
method of installation has been used for high-rise building design.
 Other considerations for water supply distribution for high rise building as below;
1) the available municipal water pressure
2) pressure requirements at different floor throughout the building and at the
upper floor
3) Flow demand
4) Booster pump capacity and control
5) Pipe and valve materials
6) Riser locations
7) Pressure zones
8) Pressure – regulating stations
9) Water heater storage capacity
10) Water heater locations
11) Domestic hot water circulation or pipe temperature maintenance
12) Space requirements in the building
13) Economics
14) Energy efficiency and acoustics.
Zoning System
• Zoning system has been introduced to avoid excessive pressure, several
schemes have been developed over years to achieve an economical,
efficient and safe installation. The building that over than 100 feet in height
require multiple water distribution zones.

Method of Zoning System

• Method of zoning system has been developed for high-rise building as
below;

a. Single zone
• This system tank is allocate at the top and will distribute the flow of water
at the bottom. The water is distributed using gravity downfeed
arrangement. This system is rarely used due to the risk of overloaded of
water storage and dangerous to the occupants. Figure 14 shows single
Zone System.
Figure 14 Single Zone System
b. Multiple zones
• High zone tank and low zone tank. If multiple zones were required,
multiple tanks were used. An air gap creates break in between the
upper and lower zones. The tanks must be sufficiently elevated for
adequate pressure at the first floor connected. Figure 15 shows
multiple zone system.

• Figure 15 shows Multiple Zones system

 c. Multi-Zone Cold Water Distribution with Multiple Pumps
• Once the reliability of pumps and power supply was established, multiple booster pumps with
constant-speed, constant-pressure control were utilized, with one pump for each zone.
•
d. Pressure Regulating Valves
• Pressure regulating valves provided anothers means of separating the building into zones. With
a pumped system, the supply pressure to the lower zone is controlled by pressure regulating
valve (PRV), and the pump discharge pressure is set for the supply to the upper zone. An
alternative would be to use a tank as the source, and continue to control the lower zone
pressure with a PRV.
•
e. Variable-Speed Pumps Systems
• Variable-speed control pumps can be used, which can reduce the energy consumption over the
life of the system while increasing system life by years. This is due to the constant water
pressure is desired in the building, various control schemes can be employed to maintain the
desired pressure with varying flows.
•
• Variable-speed booster pump systems are fast becoming the first choice for plumbing
engineers due to the advantage of reduced equipment and energy costs, the elimination of
water hammer and surges found with most constant speed systems and variable speed’s
ability to maintain accurate pressure settings.
HOT WATER SUPPLY
HOT WATER SUPPLY
•hot water can either be generated through central boiler plant and stored or local.

Central Boiler Hot Water Supply

•The central system is used for houses, hotels, offices and flats. Basically the sources of
energy used to boiler the water either from solid fuel, oil, gas or electricity.
•The distribution of hot water supply is distributes through straightforward vertical
distributing pipe system with short draw-off branches leading to taps to sanitary appliances
at each floor.
•Through this system, the storage cylinder contains hot water sufficient for both anticipated
peak demand and during the recharge period.
•The disadvantage of this system is that there is some loss of heat from the distributing
pipes and if the sources of energy from electricity the cost of usage is very high. Figure 16
shows hot water system.
Figure 16 Hot water System
Local Hot Water Supply
•This method used a water heater, adjacent to the fittings to be supplied. The
sources of energy either from gas or electricity. The water is either heated and
stored locally or heated instantaneously as it flows through the heater. The
advantages of this system, minimum usage of pipework.

Hot water Storage Heaters

•The local hot water storage heater consists of a heat source and a storage cylinder
or tank, and the instantaneously as it is run off. The larger water storage heaters
are used to supply hot water to a range of fittings such as basins, showers and
baths. The storage heater is heavily insulated to conserve energy. The size of the
heater is determined by the anticipated use of hot water at times of peak use. A
thermostat or switch operate the lower immersion heater. An advantage of this
system is that is does not have to be fixed close to the wall. Figure 17 shows water
storage heater and Figure 18 shows dimension of water storage heater.
Principle of a Solar Water Pump

•Solar water pumping is based on PV technology that converts

sunlight into electricity to pump water. The PV panels are connected
to a motor (DC/direct coupled or AC/alternating current) which
converts electrical energy supplied by the PV panel into mechanical
energy which is converted to hydraulic energy by the pump.

•The capacity of a solar pumping system to pump water is a function

of three main variables: pressure, flow, and power to the pump. For
design purposes pressure can be regarded as the work done by a
pump to lift a certain amount of water up to the stoarge tank.
INSTANTANEOUS WATER HEATERS
•The water heaters operate by running cold water around a heat exchanger. The
water is heated when it flow into exchanger. The heat exchanger only operates
when water is flowing, hence the name istantaneous water heater. The
temperature of the water at the outlet is dependent on the rate of flow of water.
•Most instantaneous water heaters are fire by gas, which is ignited by a pilot light
immediately water flows, to provide hot water instantaneously. The operation of
this system consists of the element as below;
a) cold water running through a coil of pipework, running through combustion
chamber and heat exchanger over a gas burner;
b) The cold water supply valve controls these heaters; when valve is opened, the
flow of water opens a gas valve to ignite the burners to heat water;
•This type of water heater design for single fittings such as a basin or sink. These
heaters are usually fixed above the fittings to be supplied. Figure 19,figure 20 and
figure 21 show instantaneous water heater.
Figure 20 shows Instantaneous Water heater
Method of Hot Water Distribution for High rise Building
•When domestic water distribution is separated into zones,
providing domestic hot water becomes more complicated.
Centralized distribution that is common in single zone systems
can be problematic. The simplest approach is to provide water
heating specific to each zone, or locally on each floor.
Alternatively, a centralized recirculation system can be use,
requiring PRV’s on the return.
•Other multizone hot water recirculation system exist, such as
those with multiple dedicated heaters, or with a single or
multiple pumps.
END