The risk for Legionella growth, spread and exposure, along with other biofilm-related microorganisms, can be greatly amplified with water stagnation in a buildings that has elaborate plumbing water distribution networks. This is why commercial facility Legionella water treatment solutions play a pivotal role in lowering public exposure risks to this bacteria.
Depending on the geographical area where a building is located, potable domestic hot water temperatures to decrease, or the cold water temperatures to go up. This in turn can cause Legionella growth when water temperature ranges between 20°C and 42°C. Water stagnation can also lead to very low or even undetectable disinfectant levels of disinfectant.
CSIDefender® Copper silver ionisation water treatment solutions are engineered for potable drinking water. These solutions can easily be installed into a facility water network before or after an extended shutdown period to minimize the risk of Legionnaires’ disease and other diseases associated with water.
Take a proactive approach to Legionella growth prevention & compliance requirements.
Choose CSIDefender® Copper Silver Ionisation solutions to upgrade your plumbing and protect your facility occupants from potential Legionella exposure and Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks associated to your commercial facility.
What is Legionnaires’ Disease?
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacterium. Known to grow in a building potable water distribution networks to then becomes aerosolized via shower-heads, faucets, or other means such as ornamental fountains.
When Legionella is aerosolized, and then unknowingly inhaled, it will make its way into the lungs where it can incubate and possibly cause an infection/pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease. A less severe form of Legionnaires’ disease is called Pontiac fever.
People who are immunocompromised are more susceptible to develop Legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever. Commercial facilities, some schools, and condominiums are among those buildings with a higher risk of being linked to Legionnaires’ disease-related illnesses.
Commercial Buildings and Legionella
With hundreds of thousands of occupants, the solution you choose must be powerful enough to work across the building’s entire potable water network.
CSIDefender® Copper Silver Ionization for commercial facility Legionella water treatment applications are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and reliable. These water treatment solutions will help you lower Legionella exposure risks and can also play a key role in your ASHRAE 188 Legionella Prevention Standards when secondary potable water treatment is required or recommended.
Benefits of CSIDefender®
1. Easy to Install and Maintain in New or Existing Buildings
CSIDefender® is fully automated, provides a relatively smaller footprint and easy to install in new or existing commercial facilities to prevent the growth of legionella. With no on-site chemical storage requirements, Copper Silver Ionization solutions have a lower technological footprint than chlorine or chlorine dioxide alternatives while producing no dangerous chemical by-products. Boasting a 99.99% uptime and minimal monthly preventative maintenance requirements, the CSIDefender® is the right choice for building owners.
2. Reduce Costs Compared to Alternative Treatments
Thermal-eradication and chemical treatments are known to be resource, energy, and labor-intensive processes. Compared to these costly methods, CSIDefender® provides a safer facility environment, decreases the relative cost of legionella prevention by up to 66%, and lowers other related risks associated with an outbreak, such as litigation and compliance with ASHRAE 188 Legionella Prevention Standards when recommended.
3. Reliable and Powerful Enough for Thousands of Building Occupants
Most CSI technologies available on the market are low powered, have practically no automation processes, include small electrodes and are intended for swimming pools or other applications with relatively low or no daily water turn over. CSIDefender® solutions are engineered for a wide range of daily water loads, from small facilities to the largest buildings, and can satisfy the needs of thousands of occupants. With over 46 controllers to choose from to meet your specific needs, a single fully automated unit is often enough for the entire water distribution system. And while other traditional techniques, such as Thermal-eradication or chemical treatments, only provide between 3-6 weeks residual benefits, CSIDefender® provides a continuous, long term treatment that ensures your tenants are never at risk from legionella bacteria exposure.
4. Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Legionella Prevention
Commercial buildings are normally required to deliver hot water at 120°F for normal domestic use, but one of the most common ways to kill legionella is to heat the water to 140°F or higher. Not only does this increase the risk of potential scalding, it also creates a tremendous amount of wasted energy and can potentially damage plumbing fixtures. When cold water is blended back in to lower the DHW temperature with mixing valves, cross contamination of the previously heated water occurs and Legionella returns in the DHW, rendering the treatment ineffective.
Chemical treatments, on the other hand, can lead to dangerous by-products and are very resource intensive. As buildings are becoming more sustainable and energy conscious, these solutions are no longer viable. CSIDefender® solutions lower energy requirements associated with traditional hot water treatments, require less supervision and maintenance, and produce no chemical by-products, making them a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative.
Building owners and managers in commercial facilities, schools, community centers, and office buildings have trusted the CSIDefender® for almost 20 years in hundreds of locations across North America and the world.
