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Converting Pump Head to Pressure
Converting head (ft or m) to pressure (psi or bar, kg/cm
2
) and vice versa
Since pump curves often are in head - feet or meters, its may be necessary with a conversion to the common
pressure scales used in pressure gauges - psi or bar.
Converting Head to Pressure
Converting head in feet to pressure in psi
Pump curves in feet of head can be converted to pressure - psi - by the expression:
p = 0.433 h SG (1)
where
p = pressure (psi)
h = head (ft)
SG = specific gravity
Converting head in meter to pressure in bar
Pump curves in meter of head can be converted to pressure - bar - by the expression:
p = 0.0981 h SG (2)
where
h = head (m)
p = pressure (bar)
Converting head in meter to pressure in kg/cm
2

Pump curves in meter of head can be converted to pressure - kg/cm
2
- by the expression:
p = 0.1 h SG (2b)
where
h = head (m)
p = pressure (kg/cm
2
)
Converting Pressure to Head
Since pressure gauges often are calibrated in pressure - psi or bar, it may be necessary with a conversion to
head - feet or meter, commonly used in pump curves.
Converting pressure in psi to head in feet
h = p 2.31 / SG (3)
where
h = head (ft)
p = pressure (psi)
Converting pressure in bar to head in meter
h = p 10.197 / SG (4)
where
h = head (m)
p = pressure (bar)
Converting pressure in kg/cm
2
to head in meter
h = p 10 / SG (4b)
where
h = head (m)
p = pressure (kg/cm
2
)
Example - Converting Pump Head - feet - to Pressure - psi
The pressure - psi - of a water pump operating with head 120 ft can be expressed as:
p = (120 ft) 1 / 2.31
= 52 psi
Feet of Head Water to psi
Feet Head psi
1 0.43
2 0.87
3 1.30
4 1.73
5 2.17
6 2.60
7 3.03
8 3.46
9 3.90
10 4.33
20 8.66
30 12.99
40 17.32
50 21.65
60 25.99
70 30.32
80 34.65
90 38.98
100 43.31
120 51.97
140 60.63
160 69.29
180 77.96
200 86.62
250 108.27
300 129.93

Hydraulic Pump Power
The ideal hydraulic power to drive a pump depends on the mass flow rate, the liquid density and the differential
height

- either it is the static lift from one height to an other, or the friction head loss component of the system - can be
calculated as
P
h
= q g h / (3.6 10
6
)

(1)
where
P
h
= power (kW)
q = flow capacity (m
3
/h)
= density of fluid (kg/m
3
)
g = gravity (9.81 m/s
2
)
h = differential head (m)
350 151.58
400 173.24
500 216.55
600 259.85
700 303.16
800 346.47
900 389.78
1000

Example - Power pumping Water
1 m
3
/h of water is pumped a head of 10 m. The theoretical pump power can be calculated as
P
h
= (1 m
3
/h) (1000 kg/m
3
) (9.81 m/s
2
) (10 m) / (3.6 10
6
)


= 0.027 kW
Shaft Pump Power
The shaft power - the power required transferred from the motor to the shaft of the pump - depends on the
efficiency of the pump and can be calculated as
P
s
= P
h
/ (2)
where
P
s
= shaft power (kW)
= pump efficiency
Online Pump Calculator - SI-units
The calculator below can used to calculate the hydraulic and shaft power of a pump:
135
q - flow capacity (m
3
/h)
1000
- density of fluid (kg/m
3
)
9.81
g - gravity (m/s
2
)
33
h - differential head (m)
0.6
- pump efficiency
Reset!

Online Pump Calculator - Imperial units
The calculator below can used to calculate the hydraulic and shaft power of a pump using Imperial units:
600
q - flow capacity (gpm)
62.4
- density of fluid (lb/ft
3
)
32.174
g - gravity (ft/s
2
)
110
h - differential head (ft)
0.6
- pump efficiency

Calculators
Pump Hydraulic Horsepower

The horsepower of a pump can be determined once basic information is known about the pumping station.
Horsepower is the unit of power to define hydraulic or water horsepower. In System International System (SI) it
is in kilowatts (kw).
The hydraulic power is the next energy transferred to the water per unit time. The input power delivered by the
motor to the pump is called brake horsepower (bHp).
The difference between the brake horsepower and hydraulic power is the pump efficiency.

Horsepower Calculator (see formula)
Head =

ft
Flow Rate =

gpm
Specific Gravity =


HP = 0


KW = 0


Brake Horsepower Calculator (see formula)
HP =

HP
Pump Efficiency =

%
Brake Horsepower = 0


Brake KW = 0


SI Calculator
Pressure =

meters
Flow Rate =

L/S
KW = 0


HP = 0


Hydraulic Horsepower and Kilowatt Equations
Hydraulic HP =
Head (ft) x Flow Rate (gpm) x (Specific
Gravity)
3956
Multiply HP by 0.746 to obtain kilowatts
Hydraulic Kilowatts =
(9.81) x Head (meters) x Flow Rate ( L / S ) x
(Specific Gravity)
1000
Multiply kilowatts by 1.341 to obtain horsepower

Brake Horsepower and Motor Efficiency
Brake Horsepower =
Hydraulic Power
Pump Efficiency

Once the hydraulic horsepower is known, the brake horsepower can be determined based on the pump
efficiency. A pump efficiency of 60% can be used as a conservative estimate for a basic calculation to provide a
general approximation.
Many technical references are available that can provide guidance on the use of these equations and the user
should refer to these references.

Sample Horsepower Calculations
Question: Determine the estimated pump horsepower based on the 200 gpm flow rate and 100 ft discharge pressure at the
pump.
HP =
Head (ft) x Flow Rate (gpm) x (Specific
Gravity)
3956
Pump Discharge Pressure = 100 ft
Measured Flow Rate = 200 gpm

Calculate Horsepower
HP =
100 ft x 200 gpm x 1.0
3956
HP = 5

Calculate Brake Horsepower
Brake Horsepower =
5
0.6

= 8.3

SI Units
Pump Discharge Pressure = 30.48 meter
Measured Flow Rate = 12.6 L / S
Kilowatts =
9.81 x 30.48 m x 12.6 L / S x 1.0
1000
Kilowatts = 3.76
fadi123 (Mechanical) (OP) 10 Jul 07 2:45
I always depend on the following equation in calculating the required KW for the motor of the pump (Pumped Fluid : clod water):

KW (Absorbed power) = (H x Flow)/ Pump Eff. x 367

Motor power = P abs. X Motor Eff.

Then I check with the suppliers the availabe motor size that close to my calculation and I CHOSE one with higher rated power. Inaddition I ask for 1.15 SF ,

Do I need to be more strict in the calculation ? is there are any other points I forget to consider in may calculation to the KW?


Artisi (Mechanical)
10 Jul 07 4:26
A couple of points you need to clarify,
1. what are the units used for Q and H
2. are you using the H and Q at duty point (operating point) for you
calculations or some arbitrary point on the pump H/Q curve or the
end of curve H/Q.

The correct motor selection is really an engineering exercise based
on a number of factors which are dependant on the pump
operating conditions and any upset conditions likely to be
encountered.
fadi123 (Mechanical) (OP) 10 Jul 07 7:41
Thanks Artisi,

1. The units that I used are : Q = m3/hr & H in meter to get the power in KW.

2. I use the H & Q at the duty point
25362 (Chemical) 10 Jul 07 7:57

The general formula for the power input to a liquid is expressed by the formula:

P = .Q.g.H/

When Q is in m
3
/h and H in m, g = 9.81 m/s
2
, the liquid power in kW, is

P = .Q.H/(367.)

where is the density in kg/L (=1 for water).
367 = 3600 (s/h) 9.81 (m/s
2
).

Thus your formula is OK.

In all respects proceed according to Artisi's message.
timbones (Mechanical) 10 Jul 07 9:57
The duty point is almost never where the maximum power point is. What happens if your head rise is much lower than
expected under some conditions? Is the power required for the particular pump you have higher at the higher flow
condition? Is the motor suitable for operation at this higher flow condition?
pumpking (Chemical) 21 Jul 07 6:12
When we select pumps/motors we use 25% SF for motors up to 11kw, 15% SF from 15kw to 30kw, and 10%
thereafter.

It is better to have motors sized in this was as their optimum efficiency point is between 75-90% of their rated power.

Some Engineers still like to go end of curve on the selection, this is OK, but leads to inefficient motors costing more to
run than correctly sized motors, and also much more expensive as larger motors are required to cover a theoretical end
of curve situation. Also, the pump will only operate to the system curve, and i have come across instances where it will
be physically impossible to run end of curve, but still massive motors are used "just in case"

It once again underlines the importance to have a pressure gauge fitted at the pump discharge to check where exactly
the pump is operating on its curve - once you know this, you can make further tweeks to ensure you get optimum
pump life from the pump assembly.
PumpSmart (Mechanical) 25 Jul 07 14:04
Fadi123,
You must calculate: Rating Power at Rated point, Run Out
and see Pump Performance for Max Rating Power.
Standard as API610 10th for centrifugal pumps talks about oversizing Power ratings as follows KW< 22 add 125%, 22
to 55 add 115% > 55 add 110%.
There are two more options:
-In case you will expand your capacity in near future, you should consider future parameters to sizing motor.
-In case you need a operation flexibility, you should consider to sizing motor to cover all recomendend operation region
in performance curve for the same trimmed impeller diameter.
The output power, which really isn't technically power, but rated in Gpm (gallons per minute), or capacity should also be
on thenameplate. If you have the make, model, and (not necessarily needed) the serial number (also on the nameplate) you
could callthe manufacturer's customer service dept. As an application engineer, I have contacted countless manufacturer's
service dept's forassistance. It is now big deal to them, they will be happy to answer your questions.If it is the absorbed
power of the pump to allow you to select a suitable motor then this is a function of the generated head,flowrate, specific
gravity of the fluid and the pump efficency from the OEM / pump performance curve.For those of us not in the US or
using English units then the power can also be specified in kW.In simple terms Power (kW) = Flow x Head x SG / (367 x
Effy)Where Flow is in cubic metres / hour, head is in metre, Specific Gravity (SG) being a dimensionless unit - cold clean
water SG = 1and efficency as a % from the curve or other means.If you are trying to evalaute wire to water efficency then
you can set efficency in the equation above to 1 and then ratio the input(measured power) to output power (calculated
water horse power) to obtain the overall efficency.Read
more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_calculate_the_power_of_a_centrifugal_pump#ixzz1Y1VaQvjY
The general formula for the power input to a liquid is expressed by the formula:P =

.Q.g.H/
When Q is in m
3
/h and H in m, g = 9.81 m/s
2
, the liquid power in kW, isP =

.Q.H/(367.)
where

is the density in kg/L (=1 for water).367 = 3600 (s/h) 9.81 (m/s
2
).Thus your formula is OK.Electric Motor Absorbed Power Estimation Very often one needs to know the power absorbed
by say, a pump or a carrier or fan or some otherequipment driven by an electric motor. If one has a three-phase electric
power meter and one measuresthe three phase currents and voltages then the power can be calculated directly.Most often
however all one has is the current reading from the MCC panel ammeter, the method outlinedbelow can be used to
estimate the power absorbed by the driven machine.
P = 3VIcos
whereP is absorbed power in watts
is motor efficiency
V is applied voltage