What Size Water Tank Should You Buy for Residential Use?
Water tanks are useful for storing water for residential use. You can use your tank to harvest rainwater or store water for use during a shortage. Whichever the case, choosing the right size tank is crucial to ensuring the constant availability of clean water in your home. Thus, as you shop for a tank, here are three factors to help you get the right size.
Water usage requirements
How do you intend to use the water you collect in your tank? Is it for watering plants and outdoor cleaning, or do you plan to use it indoors as well? The greater the capacity of water required to meet your needs, the bigger the tank you need.
For example, if you're storing water for household use during a drought, you need a tank that can hold enough water for cooking, cleaning, washing and bathing. Conversely, if you only need water to water your plants and clean your vehicle, you can buy a small water tank.
Annual rainfall and roof area
When buying a tank for rainwater harvesting, base your decision on the amount of rainfall in your area. If rains are the sole source of water, you don't need to buy a big tank that will only fill up halfway during the rainy season. Besides determining the annual rainfall, you also need to determine how much rain your roof can collect.
For example, one millimetre of rainwater falling on one square metre of the roof fills your tank with one litre of water. Therefore, if your area receives 100 mm of rain in the wettest months and your roof is around 150 square meters, you multiply the two figures to get 15,000 litres as the amount of rain you can harvest.
This figure doesn't mean you will harvest all the water hitting your roof. Thus, a 10,000l tank would be an ideal choice for harvesting rainfall for supplemental use. If you intend to depend heavily on rainwater for domestic use, you can get a 20,000l tank.
Available installation space
The available installation space can influence your choice of a water tank. For above-ground installations, you need adequate space to accommodate the size of the tank. You also need to install a foundation to create a stable base for the tank. Measure your preferred installation area and use the figure to determine the ideal tank size.
You can install a water tank below the ground as well. Since the tank is installed underground, you may not need to worry about installation space. This allows you to explore bigger sizes. The only downside is the complexity of the installation process to ensure the stability of the tank.
Consider these factors when determining the best water tank size for your home.