Do you know what kind of water pressure you have? Ever need to ‘schedule’ your shower when someone is not using any water elsewhere in the house to avoid a sudden blast of cold water or low water flow?

It’s very important to understand your house water pressure before purchasing any tapware or shower set, as it needs to be compatible with your water pressure. If your water pressure is poor, even a beautiful shower like the Thermostatic Showers in the Burlington Range would be pointless and dissatisfying. What else could be better than a good continuous hot shower?

Left: Burlington - Avon Thermostatic Shower
Middle: Burlington - Trent Thermostatic Shower
Right: Burlington - Eden Thermostatic Shower

What is Water Pressure?
Water Pressure is a term used to describe the flow strength of water through a pipe; it is measured in bar.

There are 3 most common types of water pressure in New Zealand:

Mains Pressure – both hot and cold water pressure are supplied at the same high pressure.
Most likely will say “Mains Pressure” on your hot water cylinder. When you turn on the taps, the flow and pressure will be strong and equal. Most new homes today are built using main water pressures.

Equal Low Pressure  – both hot and cold water pressures are supplied at the same low pressure.
When you turn on the taps, you most likely will get a slow flow and same water pressure sometimes. Which means your cold water pressure is likely to have been restricted with a pressure restrictor to make both cold and hot water pressure equal.

Unequal Low Pressure – when the cold water pressure is higher than the hot water pressure, which can cause water to mix unevenly.
Turn the cold tap on fully and then the hot – you can see the cold water pressure is higher than the hot water pressure. Especially your shower temperature / pressure changes when someone uses water elsewhere in the house. A large number of homes over 20 years of age most likely will be using low pressure hot water cylinder.

Left: VCBC - Mike Pro Basin Mixer
Middle: Burlington - Kensington Deck Mounted Bath/Shower Mixer

It is vital to know what type of water pressure you have before deciding on any tapware / shower set as it may perform differently due to the pressure. Especially, most tapware is suitable for main pressure. So check with your retailer to get one that fits you.