UV SYSTEMS
Ultraviolet And Ultra Effective
When it comes to the effective treatment of water in pools and other wet leisure environments, UV Systems are now an established choice, particularly for commercial settings. Their success is no real surprise when you consider UV’s many benefits, but their big selling point is a large reduction in the use of chlorine as a sanitiser. As more installations specify or make the switch to UV, there’s plenty of product options to consider and we take a look at a selection of them By Jon Wadeson
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ltraviolet light, or UV light as it’s most commonly shortened to, is an extremely effective disinfectant. UV’s power lies in its ability to eradicate microorganisms which includes bacteria, viruses, moulds and other pathogens that can exist in various wet leisure settings, including Legionella, Cryptosporidium and Giardia variants which are able to survive in water despite the presence of a variety of sanitisers (and that includes our reliable friend chlorine). It achieves this by penetrating the core of the DNA and disrupting the cellular metabolism until the cells are inactivated. In addition to its biocide action, UV has a powerful oxidising effect which successfully removes organic pollution from pool and spa water, so when UV is used in conjunction with chlorine, the chloramines that cause eye and skin irritation are turned into easily removed by-products that are non-toxic to humans and nature. Although highly effective in sanitising the water in pools and spas, UV is still a secondary disinfection process that is used alongside other treatments as the principal disinfectant. The reason for this is that UV only treats water as it passes through the lamp, therefore a sanitser such as chlorine is needed to provide a constant defence throughout the rest of the water system. Through the use of UV, it is possible to drastically reduce sanitiser levels by as much as 80% and down to as little as 0.5ppm. In addition to requiring less chemicals, water treated with a UV system will also require less backwashing and heating costs will be improved too – an extremely important factor with energy costs at the level they are at! So in summary, the water within a UV treated pool or spa uses less chemicals, requires less backwashing and both water and heating costs are reduced. It creates a better environment for both users and operators too. However chlorine use, whilst minimised, still
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plays an essential role in providing the safest possible water. With numerous benefits, it’s no wonder that UV has become an established and popular choice for both commercial, and increasingly residential sectors and in this issue, we shine a light on just some of the ultra effective UV options that are available.
INTRODUCING THE ULTRABLUE™ UV SYSTEM FROM ULTRAAQUA ULTRAAQUA is an international manufacturer of advanced UV water disinfection systems for a wide range of water treatment applications and the company’s ULTRABLUE™ UV system is the result of extensive scientific research and R&D activities, aimed at optimising disinfection, reducing chloramines and ensuring crypto / giardia safety in swimming pools. The system effectively lowers combined chlorine levels, improves air quality and provides healthier water for swimmers. Over the past decade, research has revealed that most measured combined chlorine levels in swimming pools are made The ULTRABLUE™ UV system is the result of extensive scientific research and R&D activities
up of organic chloramine compounds. With its pool-optimised medium-pressure lamp technology, the ULTRABLUE™ ensures a low level of organic combined chlorine through continuous photolysis. To minimise operating costs, the ULTRABLUE™ features reactor geometries and electronic control systems that have been designed with large, flanged connections and body geometry resulting in minimal head loss even at high flow rates. Its intelligent PLC control enables automatic operational efficiency through lamp dimming based on combined chlorine sensing, time of day / week timers, flow, or via the UV sensor. This allows the system to be dimmed and operated based on a number of different intelligent, user-selectable set points in real-time to save energy. Additionally, during opening hours, it can be set to maintain a minimum UV dose to provide a barrier for crypto and giardia. The ULTRABLUE™ has been NSF50 tested and approved for secondary disinfection in swimming pools. Its mediumpressure lamp technology ensures effective disinfection and protection against harmful pathogens.
LET BIO-UV AND ASTRALPOOL MAKE LIGHT WORK OF WATER DISINFECTION AstralPool UK and BIO-UV have been working together for just over a year with the Hampshire-based distributor supplying French manufacturer’s UV Stainless Steel, UV FW and UV NEO systems for residential pools and UV MPL, UV FW and NSF certified triogen® UV CF systems for commercial installations. Customers are constantly looking for more environmentally friendly solutions to treat and disinfect their pool water automatically. For over 30 years, BIO-UV Group met these challenges by offering alternative technologies (UV-C, salt electrolysis and ozone) and complementary
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