Merched

Looking for some advice please?
As the pump uses our expensive electricity, can anyone give some tips on using this efficiently please? For example, should we be filling sink and kettle at the same time when the pump is running or does it not make any difference if you run off small amounts more frequently? Also not sure how the cisterna / pump relationship works.
Any tips gratefully received
Thanks in advance

MrBife

Borehole pressure is rather uneven and the pump (usually a 3 phase one at the bottom of the borehole shaft) is more efficient if not used on a 'stop start' basis as the electrical energy used is more and the wear and tear is more.

This borehole supply is usually connected to a cisterna (water tank) with a float switch to trigger it. Usually a fair 'overlap' on the float so the pump only cuts in when the tank drops significantly.

If you want to get max savings in terms of Electrical power then you could connect a time-switch into the same circuit to ensure that the borehole pump only ran at night using off peak power. (This is assuming you have a dual tariff electricity meter).

The pressure in the water pipes of the house is maintained with a small single phase pressure pump that charges a balloon (or other pressure sensing device). This cuts in and out as the pressure drops but consumes a lot less power than the borehole pump.

It's never a good idea to connect the borehole pump direct to the house pipework, there should always be a cisterna of some sort to act as storage. Also important to settle out sediment as there could be sand or soil in it. Not a bad idea to have a coarse filter after the house pump but before the house pipework just to filter out as many bits as possible.

carvoeiro

Hi this diagram pic 1 or 3 typically represents what you have in Portugal
6 Best Images of Water Well Pump System Diagram - Water Well Construction Diagram, RV Water Pump System and Water Well Systems Diagram / cleanri.com
The only adjustment you can make is to ensure the pressure indicator is working and the pressure switch is adjusted correctly - ie your pump doesnt run the moment you start asking for water but when the pressure drops in the pressure tank - check this is working - just make sure its actually holding water not just letting it pass through - both of mine were broken when i bought my current house
my electricity bill has more or less doubled in 5 years so ive been trying to find out why
and the biggest users do seem to be tthe water pump kettle hair dryer oven and washing machine so any of those you can cut back on or use during a low tariff period the better
sadly however the biggest increases were the standing charge and tthe application of different iva- vat rates about which you can do nothing