UV and ozone sanitation systems cannot be used on their own. For pool owners looking for a way to cut down their use of chlorine and other pool chemicals, UV and ozone systems can be used along with a chlorine or salt water sanitation system to keep pool water clean and healthy. Both UV and ozone systems work in conjunction with major sanitation and chemical systems that use minerals, chlorine, bromine and salt.
When you think of ozone, you probably think of the thin layer of gas in our atmosphere. Ozone is a gas that is also used to filter pool water. How does it work? An ozone generator uses a high voltage ionization process that creates ozone gas. Ozone is also created through an ultraviolet radiation treatment but the UV process produces less gas (about 5% ozone) compared to the ionization process (which produces about 20% ozone). The UV lamp used in some ozone systems should not be confused with a UV sanitation system - which is a completely different sanitation process.
Ozone is a strong oxidizer (about 100 times stronger than chlorine) and it helps break down pool contaminants like grease and oils, which keeps your pool water clean. A great benefit of using ozone is that it does not affect the pH levels of your swimming pool, which means that you'll have to adjust the pH levels less often. For this reason people who use an ozone sanitation system along with their chlorine or salt water system use less chemicals over time.
People who have salt water pools will notice an improvement in their salt cell performance when they add an ozone sanitation system to the mix. Ozone reduces the amount of salt scaling on the salt cell, which can extend the life of your salt water system.
It's important to note that on its own ozone sanitation systems cannot eliminate pool contaminants, especially those organic contaminants that can enter your body and make you sick.
UV sanitation systems push water through a UV lamp at a specific flow rate. The lamp delivers UV light at a set intensity which then neutralizes pathogens and contaminants in the pool water. This process does not kill contaminants like chlorine does. Instead, the UV process makes the containments inert and stops them from reproducing. For this reason, UV systems must be used along with other pool chemicals like chlorine and salt water systems.
Although the systems are different, ozone and UV sanitation systems offer similar benefits. Both will not impact your pool's pH level and they both will extend the life of your pool's salt cells by reducing the need for chlorine in the system. For this reason, both systems are popular choices for pool owners.