National water retailer, Wave, has formed a significant partnership with water-sensing technology company, Infersens, to determine how to harmonise a reduction in water usage, with water safety, and the effective management of Legionella risk in non-domestic buildings.
As it stands, more than seven million business or public sector premises across England manually carry out weekly and monthly water monitoring regimes, as part of their Legionella risk management (LRM) strategies. This includes flushing out taps and systems on top of regular daily use to avoid the Legionella growth conditions of lukewarm and stagnating water. It has been estimated that these LRM activities could account for up to 8%* of total non-household (NHH) consumption.
With new funding received through the Market Improvement Fund, a selection of business customers will have the opportunity to trial the innovative, remote, retro-fit flow/temperature sensors provided by Infersens, which could significantly reduce the water used in their LRM activities. This will be achieved by using data collected by the sensors which will read the temperature profiles and confirm the taps and systems that have had sufficient flow in the past week, and so present low risk of Legionella and don’t need any manual intervention.
This trial will be the first of its kind in the UK that will attempt to quantify the volume of water used by businesses to manage Legionella risk, and to provide evidence that new technology, including that provided by Infersens, can be the key to unlock this untapped source of water efficiency savings.
Oli Shelley, Head of Operations at Wave commented: “Current Legionella risk management strategies often result in significant water wastage, so we’re excited to be able to run this trial which we hope will drive behaviour change in businesses and make it easier for them to fulfil their obligations.
“As the Infersens sensors will provide 24/7 flow and temperature data where remote sensors are deployed, businesses will be able to target specific taps and systems, to reduce unnecessary wastage. This has the potential to highlight substantial water saving opportunities for both our customers and our national resources.”
Dr Jana Voigt, CEO at Infersens added: “We are delighted to be working alongside Wave on such an important project. Our hope is that through this collaboration we can evolve legacy Legionella risk management practices to become more effective, and more sustainable.”
