When Temperature Control Isn’t Enough: How To Beat Hidden Legionella Risks
When Temperature Control Isn’t Enough: How One Housing Association Beat Hidden Legionella Risks - and How You Can Too.
Relying solely on temperature control to manage Legionella risk? You might be missing a serious threat - and here's the proof.
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When Temperature Control Isn’t Enough: How One Housing Association Beat Hidden Legionella Risks - and How You Can Too
Relying solely on temperature control to manage Legionella risk? You might be missing a serious threat - and here's the proof.
When a UK housing association began using remote temperature monitoring in several of its sheltered housing complexes, the aim was to overcome the challenges engineers faced in accessing tenanted properties.
The system allowed them to record temperatures at sentinel outlets every 15 minutes, providing far more comprehensive data than the monthly in-person engineering checks previously relied upon.
However, the improvement in monitoring revealed an unexpected problem.
The Challenge: Hidden Warm Water Risk
Reviewing the data, the facilities team noticed that cold water temperatures often exceeded 20°C, a level that promotes the growth of Legionella, a harmful bacterium that can cause serious illness in exposed users.
The likely cause? Hot and cold pipework installed in close proximity, leading to unwanted heat transfer. Due to the building layout, the use of engineering controls alone couldn’t fully resolve the issue.
The housing association, therefore, needed a robust secondary control measure, one that could provide reliable protection and work in tandem with temperature monitoring.
The Solution: Huwa-San Constant Dosing
After evaluating various options, the association chose to install a Huwa-San constant dosing system, a highly effective solution for ongoing Legionella control.
This intelligent system uses a flow-activated dosing pump connected to a water meter. Every time water flows through the system, the pump automatically adds a small, controlled dose of Huwa-San, a powerful yet safe disinfectant.
SafeSol conducted a full site survey to ensure optimal installation and designed a bypass in the plastic mains pipework, allowing precise and effective dosing into the water system.
Why Huwa-San?
Safe: Approved under BPR PT5, Huwa-San is safe for use in human drinking water.
Better than Chlorine: Unlike chlorine, Huwa-San destroys biofilm —the layer of microorganisms where Legionella bacteria grow and thrive. This makes it the superior choice for legionella control.
Eco-Friendly: Unlike other chemicals often used to control Legionella and other waterborne pathogens, it is eco-friendly and has only two breakdown products: oxygen and water.
Simple to Use: A single, easy-to-manage biocide, it simplifies system maintenance.
Repeat Results: Proven across numerous UK installations, it keeps systems clean and free from Legionella.
Smarter Monitoring + Smarter Control = Safer Water
This case illustrates the insufficiency of temperature control as a standalone strategy for managing Legionella, as well as the effectiveness of integrating real-time data with innovative water treatment.
With Huwa-San, the housing association turned a hidden risk into a controlled solution, ensuring peace of mind for residents and compliance for the organisation.
If your water system relies solely on temperature to manage legionella risk, it may be time to add a second layer of defence, protecting your users from legionella and you from the potential consequences of non-compliance (damage to company reputation, hefty fines and even legal action).
To enquire about the installation of a constant dosing system in your water systems, contact
To enquire about the installation of a constant dosing system in your water systems, contact
