As high-rise buildings are becoming a more prevalent sight on UK horizons, it is important to recognise the additional challenges that engineers face as buildings get taller.
Supplying sufficient water pressure to all floors within high-rise buildings has always been a challenge in which engineers have had to overcome through careful design. The design should aim to maintain an even distribution of water to all floors, as well as combatting the effect of gravity and ensuring the higher floors still receive adequate water pressure.
With good planning and careful consideration, the issues surrounding excessive pressure are usually relatively easy to resolve through the use of high-pressure products and Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV’s) in the system.
PRV’s are designed to restrict pressure; as water moves from the inlet port, it must pass through a spring and a diaphragm which will cause resistance and therefore lower the pressure to the desired level as the water leaves the valve through the outlet port.
The advantage of a pressure reducing valve is that they are set to regulate the water flow to a specific pressure.
PRV’s are usually used on the legs coming off the main riser, only reducing the pressure when the water has reached the desired level. Meaning that the core section of the system – the riser and plant rooms – are subjected to much higher pressures and therefore valves installed within these sections must be able to withstand a much higher-pressure level.
Isolation valves are another example of a valve that would need to be installed throughout a system, including on the pipework that is running at high pressure. Isolation valves are an essential part of every system, allowing engineers to isolate a section of the system to carry out routine maintenance and emergency repairs throughout the lifetime of the system.
Albion will be launching a full range of PN25 valves, that will be held ex-stock and available for next-day delivery.