How Reverse Osmosis Booster Pumps Work

The purpose of the reverse osmosis booster pump is to increase water pressure going into the RO unit.

Reverse osmosis is a pressure-driven process. Small residential RO units will theoretically operate on very low pressure--down to 35 psi, according to some membrane makers--but the reality is, you won't get a lot of water and the product water quality will be compromised if the unit runs below 45 psi. Low inlet pressure makes the unit produce more reject water, produce less drinking water, fill the storage tank more slowly, and produce lower quality water.

RO units run well on typical city water pressure of 60 psi, but they run even better with a small pump to boost the pressure to 80 psi or higher.

The picture above shows the three essential elements of the RO booster pump. The white object at left is the transformer. It plugs into a standard wall outlet and converts to the voltage (most commonly 24 volts) required by the pump. The large object is the pump itself. The third device is the pressure switch. It monitors the water pressure in the RO unit's storage tank and turns the pump off and on in response to storage tank pressure. The most common shutoff pressure for undersink home RO units is 40 psi.