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Pump Head Calculator

Calculate total pump head from static lift, friction losses and pressure requirements.

About Pump Head Calculator

Static lift is fixed but loss terms rise with the square of flow, so a pump curve intersects the system curve at one operating point. Knowing the static share tells you how steeply the system curve rises. A system dominated by static lift behaves very differently under throttling from one dominated by friction, which determines whether variable-speed control saves energy.

Formula

Pump Head

TDH = static lift + friction losses + fitting losses + pressure head

TDH
Total dynamic head, the head a pump must generate
static lift
Vertical rise, independent of flow rate

Worked example

With the default values below, Pump Head Calculator returns Total Dynamic Head of 28.500. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Static liftminimum 0 m
20 m
Friction head lossminimum 0 m
6 m
Loss through fittings and valvesminimum 0 m
2.5 m
Required pressure at the outletminimum 0 Pa
0 Pa
Fluid densityminimum 0.01 kg/m3
1,000 kg/m3

Results

Total Dynamic Head
28.500 m
Equivalent Pressure
279,585.00 Pa
Head From the Outlet Pressure Requirement
0.000 m
Total Loss Head
8.500 m
Static Lift as Share of Total Head
70.2%

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Pump Head
  3. 3Total Dynamic Head= 28.500 m
  4. 4Equivalent Pressure= 279,585.00 Pa
  5. 5Head From the Outlet Pressure Requirement= 0.000 m
  6. 6Total Loss Head= 8.500 m
  7. 7Static Lift as Share of Total Head= 70.2

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Pump Head calculated?

TDH = static lift + friction losses + fitting losses + pressure head Static lift is fixed but loss terms rise with the square of flow, so a pump curve intersects the system curve at one operating point. Knowing the static share tells you how steeply the system curve rises.

Why does Pump Head matter?

A system dominated by static lift behaves very differently under throttling from one dominated by friction, which determines whether variable-speed control saves energy.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Static lift, Friction head loss, Loss through fittings and valves, Required pressure at the outlet, Fluid density. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

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Pump Head Calculator – Calculate Total Dynamic Head