Pumping Water - Horsepower Requirements

Horsepower requirements pumping water

The energy imparted to the water by a pump is called water horsepower and can be calculated as

Pwhp = q h sg / 3960     (1)

where

Pwhp = water horsepower (hp)

q = flow (gal/min)

h = head (ft)

sg = specific gravity

The table below can be used to estimate the power requirements when pumping water.

Volume Flow
(gpm)
Horsepower Required to lift water at 60oF (hp)
Height (ft)
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 50
5 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.06
10 0.011 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.13
15 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.11 0.13 0.15 0.19
20 0.03 0.05 0.08 0.10 0.13 0.15 0.18 0.20 0.25
25 0.03 0.06 0.10 0.13 0.16 0.19 0.22 0.25 0.32
30 0.04 0.08 0.11 0.15 0.19 0.23 0.27 0.30 0.38
35 0.04 0.09 0.13 0.18 0.22 0.27 0.31 0.35 0.44
40 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.51
45 0.06 0.11 0.17 0.23 0.28 0.34 0.40 0.46 0.57
50 0.06 0.13 0.19 0.25 0.32 0.38 0.44 0.50 0.63
60 0.08 0.15 0.23 0.30 0.38 0.46 0.53 0.61 0.76
70 0.09 0.18 0.27 0.35 0.44 0.53 0.62 0.71 0.88
80 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.61 0.71 0.81 1.0
90 0.11 0.23 0.34 0.46 0.57 0.68 0.80 0.91 1.1
100 0.13 0.25 0.38 0.50 0.63 0.76 0.88 1.00 1.3

Note! Individual pump curves should always be used for exact calculations.

horsepower required to raise water to various heights

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