UV Systems For Commercial Swimming Pools – Part 1

In Blog, UV by Aaron Donohue

We’d like to take a minute to talk about Ultraviolet systems, since they are one of the hottest trends that the swimming pool industry has seen in a while. In order to examine each option a bit without losing you halfway through, we’re going to break the discussion up into 3 parts. Our goal is to introduce you to UV and perhaps help you decide on one that might be right for you.

UV is not a new technology. Ultraviolet systems have been used in waste water treatment, drinking water treatment and in pools/spas for years. We’ve all read the stories in industry magazines and online about how adding a UV system to an existing pool can dramatically improve the water and air quality of an aquatic facility. We have clients who will attest to this. UV is simply a great option to add to existing pools/spas.

There are a couple things that are left out in these articles, though, and those are what type of UV is in use and what the application is (eg: swim school vs.community center vs. collegiate pool, etc.). This information is crucial for understanding what kind of result you the consumer may get by adding UV to your pool.

First, let’s break down the options and then delve deeper into where those options would be best suited, what the upsides are, and what the potential downsides are to choosing the wrong system. It is important to note that not every UV system will work well with every pool. The UV type must be selected based on the application; the model and manufacturer should come second to that.

UV Options – Really there are 3 contenders in the commercial market:

             Medium Pressure

             Low Pressure

             Low Pressure Amalgam

Each option has upsides and downsides and each has an ideal application. In our second installment we’ll discuss Medium Pressure and we’ll wrap up Low Pressure and Low Pressure Amalgam in the third. We’d love to hear about your own experiences with Ultraviolet systems, so please let us know if you have one and what you think of it. Stay tuned for part 2!