Horne Engineering has launched a narrated animation, viewable online (www.horne.co.uk/ blog/enhancinglegionella - control-and-compliance), which shows how a new Thermal Disinfection Adaptor for its Optitherm tap can ensure compliance with a key recommendation for controlling Legionella set out in the L8 “Control of Legionella in Water Systems Approved Code of Practice”.
L8 says terminal fittings should be thermally disinfected for a period of five minutes, to effectively control Legionella in water systems. The Thermal Disinfection Adaptor takes the hot water supply (typically at 60°C in line with HTM 04-01), and redirects it via the cold port of the internal mixing valve and thermostatic mechanism to expose the internal surfaces to the hot water. During the process, heat also spreads, via conduction, throughout the entire tap body, elevating the temperature of all the internal surfaces, and, in the process, killing any microorganisms. The new animation, to be demonstrated on Horne’s stand, C21, at this month’s Healthcare Estates 2011 event, illustrates the process, and includes a sequence of thermal imaging video, which shows how the heat from the water penetrates right through to the outer surface of the tap body. Horne says: “The thermal regime for the control of Legionella is thus extended through the terminal fitting and to the point of discharge, allowing a whole system approach.”
