Convert water pressure between bar, psi, kPa, and metres/feet of water head.
Whatever unit you enter, the calculator first converts it to bar, then multiplies out to every other unit. All results are rounded to 2 decimal places.
| Unit | Equal to 1 bar |
|---|---|
| PSI | 14.5038 psi |
| kPa | 100 kPa |
| Metres of Head | 10.1972 m |
| Feet of Head | 33.455 ft |
Many pressure gauges and pump labels in India read in kg/cm², which this tool does not list. 1 kg/cm² ≈ 0.981 bar, so you can enter a kg/cm² reading as bar for a rough answer, or multiply by 0.981 first for a closer one.
In buildings fed from a rooftop tank, the static pressure at a tap depends only on the vertical height from the tank's water level down to that tap. Select "Metres of Head" and enter that height:
| Height below tank water level | Bar | PSI | kPa |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 m | 0.25 | 3.56 | 24.52 |
| 6 m | 0.59 | 8.53 | 58.84 |
| 9 m | 0.88 | 12.80 | 88.26 |
| 12 m | 1.18 | 17.07 | 117.68 |
| 15 m | 1.47 | 21.33 | 147.10 |
This is why the top floor of a building with a terrace tank often has weak showers: with the shower head only 2 to 3 metres below the tank, there is barely a quarter of a bar. Raising the tank on a stand or fitting a pressure booster pump are the usual remedies.
Pump makers usually state head in metres. A pump with a 30 m head can produce about 2.94 bar, 42.67 psi or 294.2 kPa at zero flow. The pressure it delivers while water is flowing is lower, and the figure on the pump curve for your required flow is the one that matters.
Fixtures such as instant geysers, thermostatic mixers and some washing machines list a minimum and maximum working pressure, often in bar. Convert your supply pressure with this tool and compare it with the product manual before buying.
Pressures in plumbing are normally gauge pressure, meaning the reading above atmospheric pressure. A gauge showing 0 still has about 1.013 bar of atmospheric pressure acting on it.