Chapter 5 — Cold-Water Systems 123

Table 5-5 Demand Weight of Fixtures, however, the 80% factor is a ru le of thu mb that
in Fixture Unitsa shou ld n ot apply to an engineered system.
If th e available water pressu re at a project
Weight Minimum
s it e is h igh en ou gh to requ ire t h e u s e of a
(fixture units)c Connections,
in. (mm) pressure-regu lating device, the pressu re-regulat-
in g valve is considered th e starting point of the
Fixture Typeb Cold Hot
system for the pu rposes of calcu lation.
Private Public Water Water
The next step in obtaining the pressu re avail-
Bathtubd 2 4 2 (13) 2 (13) able for friction loss is to determine the residu al
pressu re requ ired at th e govern in g fixtu re or
Bedpan washer — 10 1 (25) — applian ce (not necessarily the farthest fixtu re).
Bidet 2 4 2 (13) 2 (13) “Residu al pressu re” is the pressu re requ ired at
th e fixtu re for it to operate properly with water
Combination sink flowing. Normally, bu t n ot always, 8 psi (55.2
and tray 3 — 2 (13) 2 (13) kPa) is requ ired for a flu sh-tank system and 15
Dental unit or cuspidor — 1 a (10) — psi (103.4 kPa) is requ ired for a flu sh -valve sys-
tem. Some flu sh-valve fixtu res requ ire 20 or 25
Dental lavatory 1 2 2 (13) 2 (13) psi (137.9 or 172.4 kPa); some water closets re-
Drinking fountain 1 2 a (10) — qu ire 40 psi (275.8 kPa); commercial dishwash-
ers requ ire 20 or 25 psi (137.9 or 172.4 kPa). It
Kitchen sink 2 4 2 (13) 2 (13) is eviden t , th en , t h a t t h e res idu a l pres s u re
Lavatory 1 2 a (10) a (10) shou ld be figu red as the actu al pressu re n eeded
at the govern ing fixtu re.
Laundry tray (1 or 2
compartments) 2 4 2 (13) 2 (13) The third step is to determine the static pres-
su re loss requ ired to reach the governin g fixtu re
Shower, each headd 2 4 2 (13) 2 (13) or appliance. The static loss (or gain) is figu red
Sink, service 2 4 2 (13) 2 (13) at 0.433 psi/ ft (9.8 kPa/ m) of elevation differ-
ence, above or below the water main. The differ-
Urinal, pedestal — 10 1 (25) — ence in elevation is u su ally a pressu re loss to
Urinal (wall lip) — 5 2 (13) — th e system, as fixtu res are n ormally at a higher
elevation than the sou rce. If the fixtu re is lower
Urinal stall — 5 w (20) — than the sou rce, there will be an increase in pres-
Urinal with flush tank — 3 — — su re and th e static pressu re is added to th e ini-
tial pressu re.
Wash sink, circular or
multiple (each set of Anoth er pressu re loss is created by th e wa-
faucets) — 2 2 (13) 2 (13) ter meter. This loss of pressu re, for a disc type
meter, can be determined from Figu re 5-4 or from
Water closet: th e manu factu rer’s flow charts. Th e flow is de-
Flush valve 6 10 1 (25) — termined from ch arts indicating th e total flow
rate, in gpm (L/ s), th e size and type of the meter,
Tank 3 5 a (10) — and the pressu re drop for the corresponding flow.
The loss is given in pou n ds per squ are inch (psi)
a For supply outlets likely to impose continuous demands, esti-
and kilopascals (kPa). The selection of meter size
mate the continuous supply separately and add to the total demand
for fixtures. is very important in the final sizin g of the pipin g
b For fixtures not listed, weights may be assumed by comparing system and is one variable the designer can con-
the fixture to a listed one then using water in similar quantities and trol. Man y other factors, su ch as the height of
at similar rates. th e bu ilding, city water pressu re, and requ ire-
c The given weights are for the total demand of fixtures with both ments for backflow protection or water treatment,
hot and cold-water supplies. The weights for maximum separate are dictated by codes or by the particu lar situ a-
demands may be taken as 75% of the listed demand for the sup-
ply. tion. The designer mu st review the system very
d A shower over a bathtub does not add a fixture unit to the group. closely prior to the selection of a meter size. Usu -
ally, th e larger th e meter, the high er th e initial
in stallation price and mon thly charge. On the
124 ASPE Data Book — Volume 2

Table 5-6 Conversions—Gallons per Minute (Liters per Second) to Fixture Units

Flow, Fixture Units Flow, Fixture Units Flow, Fixture Units

gpm Flush Flush gpm Flush Flush gpm Flush Flush
(L/s) Tank Valve (L/s) Tank Valve (L/s) Tank Valve

1 (0.06) 0 — 45 (2.84) 107 37 145 (9.14) 611 521

2 (0.13) 1 — 46 (2.90) 111 39 150 (9.45) 638 559
3 (0.19) 3 — 47 (2.96) 115 42 155 (9.77) 665 596
4 (0.25) 4 — 48 (3.02) 119 44 160 (10.08) 692 631
5 (0.32) 6 — 49 (3.09) 123 46 165 (10.40) 719 666
6 (0.38) 7 — 50 (3.15) 127 48 170 (10.71) 748 700
7 (0.44) 8 — 51 (3.21) 130 50 175 (11.03) 778 739
8 (0.50) 10 — 52 (3.28) 135 52 180 (11.34) 809 775
9 (0.57) 12 — 53 (3.34) 141 54 185 (11.66) 840 811
10 (0.63) 13 — 54 (3.40) 146 57 190 (11.97) 874 850
11 (0.69) 15 — 55 (3.47) 151 60 200 (12.60) 945 931
12 (0.76) 16 — 56 (3.53) 155 63 210 (13.23) 1018 1009
13 (0.82) 18 — 57 (3.59) 160 66 220 (13.86) 1091 1091
14 (0.88) 20 — 58 (3.65) 165 69 230 (14.49) 1173 1173
15 (0.95) 21 — 59 (3.72) 170 73 240 (15.12) 1254 1254
16 (1.01) 23 — 60 (3.78) 175 76 250 (15.75) 1335 1335
17 (1.07) 24 — 62 (3.91) 185 82 260 (16.38) 1418 1418
18 (1.13) 26 — 64 (4.03) 195 88 270 (17.01) 1500 1500
19 (1.20) 28 — 66 (4.16) 205 95 280 (17.64) 1583 1583
20 (1.26) 30 — 68 (4.28) 215 102 290 (18.27) 1668 1668
21 (1.32) 32 — 70 (4.41) 225 108 300 (18.90) 1755 1755
22 (1.39) 34 5 72 (4.54) 236 116 310 (19.53) 1845 1845
23 (1.45) 36 6 74 (4.66) 245 124 320 (20.16) 1926 1926
24 (1.51) 39 7 76 (4.79) 254 132 330 (20.79) 2018 2018
25 (1.58) 42 8 78 (4.91) 264 140 340 (21.42) 2110 2110
26 (1.64) 44 9 80 (5.04) 275 148 350 (22.05) 2204 2204
27 (1.70) 46 10 82 (5.17) 284 158 360 (22.68) 2298 2298
28 (1.76) 49 11 84 (5.29) 294 168 370 (23.31) 2388 2388
29 (1.83) 51 12 86 (5.42) 305 176 380 (23.94) 2480 2480
30 (1.89) 54 13 88 (5.54) 315 186 390 (24.57) 2575 2575
31 (1.95) 56 14 90 (5.67) 326 195 400 (25.20) 2670 2670
32 (2.02) 58 15 92 (5.80) 337 205 410 (25.83) 2765 2765
33 (2.08) 60 16 94 (5.92) 348 214 420 (26.46) 2862 2862
34 (2.14) 63 18 96 (6.05) 359 223 430 (27.09) 2960 2960
35 (2.21) 66 20 98 (6.17) 370 234 440 (27.72) 3060 3060
36 (2.27) 69 21 100 (6.30) 380 245 450 (28.35) 3150 3150
37 (2.33) 74 23 105 (6.62) 406 270 500 (31.50) 3620 3620
38 (2.39) 78 25 110 (6.93) 431 295 550 (34.65) 4070 4070
39 (2.46) 83 26 115 (7.25) 455 329 600 (37.80) 4480 4480
40 (2.52) 86 28 120 (7.56) 479 365 700 (44.10) 5380 5380
41 (2.58) 90 30 125 (7.88) 506 396 800 (50.40) 6280 6280
42 (2.65) 95 31 130 (8.19) 533 430 900 (56.70) 7280 7280
43 (2.71) 99 33 135 (8.51) 559 460 1000 (63) 8300 8300
44 (2.77) 103 35 140 (8.82) 585 490