Ultra violet disinfection is a process whereby the swimming pool water flows through a UV chamber and is exposed to UV light. The UV light is harmful to bacteria and other micro-organisms because it mutates the DNA of the organism, which means that it can no longer reproduce. The UV chamber is installed in the plant room and once the swimming pool water has passed through the chamber, it will have been purified to the extent that any chlorine in the water will have also been removed. UV disinfection is a physical, not a chemical process and nothing is added to the swimming pool water when it passes through the UV chamber. This means that UV treatment is a non-residual form of disinfection and a secondary disinfectant such as chlorine will need to be added before the water recirculates back to the swimming pool.
Some advantages of UV disinfection systems are that there are no chemicals to handle or store and once installed, the system does not take up too much space or require high levels of expertise to operate (unlike ozone disinfection systems). Also, it does not produce chemical by-products like chlorine does.For more information and useful fact sheet downloads regarding UV, go here.
