HomespringTM Central Water Purifier
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Contents
HomespringTM Central Water Purifier .................................................................................................................. 3 System Description ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Description of Treatment Process ....................................................................................................................... 3 Process............................................................................................................................................................ 3 Daily Backflush ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Maintenance .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Portable Integrity Testing For UF Membrane System..................................................................................... 5 Product Specifications......................................................................................................................................... 6 Product Certifications .......................................................................................................................................... 6 USEPA Microbiological Water Purifier ............................................................................................................ 7 NSF Certification ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Installation ........................................................................................................................................................... 8 Scalability ........................................................................................................................................................ 8 GE Process and Water Technologies/ Zenon Environmental............................................................................. 9 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers ....................................................................................................... 10 Company Details ............................................................................................................................................... 11
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HomespringTM Central Water Purifier This paper discusses the HomespringTM Central Water Purifier. The HomespringTM Central Water Purification systems are self-contained 2-stage water purifiers that can take water from any source and improve the taste and odour and make the water microbiologically pure. The system is installed at the point where the water enters the home or business and provides purified water to every tap in the building. System Description Point of Entry (POE) filtration system Safer, better tasting water from every tap in the house Filter water from any water source Town Water (town/ city) Ground Water (well, bores) Surface Water (lakes, rivers) Self Cleaning System The HomespringTM Central Water Purification System is made by ZENON Environmental, the world's leading provider of ultrafiltration membrane systems, currently recognized as the most advanced water treatment technology around the world. Certifications AS/NZS 4348 “Domestic Type Water Treatment Devices – Performance Requirements” ANSI/ NSF Standards 42 and 53 Description of Treatment Process Process The water is initially filtered through the integral carbon/ stainless steel mesh pre-filter where it is pre-filtered to 100 microns and turbidity, chlorine taste and odours are removed. The water then passes through the secondary ultra-filtration stage where it flows from the outside-in through the hollow fibre membranes where any particles or pathogens greater than 0.02 microns nominal are physically filtered resulting in crystal clear, purified water to all sources in the building on demand.
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The ZeeWeed® membrane is an outside-in membrane, where the flow of water is from the outside of the membrane to the inside of the hollow fibre. The result is that the inside of the membrane only comes in contact with clean, filtered water. The solids and pathogens to be removed remain outside of the membrane, where they do not cause fouling and plugging and where the solids can be shed and washed away with ZENON’s patented through-the-wall backwash feature. The outside-in membrane also provides significantly more filtering surface area than a comparably sized inside-out membrane. This results in higher flow rates, lower pressure drops and less frequent cleaning requirements. The system is extremely energy efficient as it requires no electricity to filter - it uses the existing water line pressure to drive the water through the membrane. The only electricity required is for the controller to set the time and to activate the solenoid valve for the daily self-cleaning cycle which takes approximately 5 minutes. Electrical current usage for this time period is less than 1 amp at 120V. The water filtration system operates with a very minimal pressure loss (approximately 6.9 kPa / 9.5 lpm flow). Daily Backflush The HomespringTM Central Water Purifiers utilise ZENON’s patented integral through-the-wall backflush to ensure the membranes are properly cleaned daily to prevent premature fouling. The system has an integral air bladder tank which forces pre-filtered water up the membrane and out from the inside-out forcing any pathogens or particles that have collected in the pores or along the outside of the membrane wall to be shed and flushed away into the drain. This backflush sequence is so effective that it results in a virtually maintenance free system in a typical domestic application for a one year period. This sequence is activated by the solid state controller. The system installer chooses the time for this backflushing sequence to occur (usually in the middle of the night) and enters it on the controller. The controller also has selectable backwashing programs depending upon the amount of water used and the quality of the incoming water. The controller as a battery back up in case of power failure to retain the time and program.
ZENON’s Patented Through-TheMembrane backflush with the Integral Air Bladder tank
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Maintenance On systems with Turbidity <1 NTU 95% of the time or between 1-5 NTU 95% of the time installed with the optional external surface water kit, the daily automatic backwash keeps the system running maintenance free for a period of typically of one year. Annual maintenance should be performed on the system by a Certified Homespring Technician. Work performed during the annual maintenance include replacement of carbon filter (certified for 378,000 - 490,000 litres), membrane chemical cleaning, changing the back-up batteries in the controller, checking backpulse tank pressure, checking membrane pressure differential before and after the membrane cleaning and performing an integrity test on the system to confirm that it is working correctly. The membranes are cleaned using 500 ml of household bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite) Typical time to perform an annual maintenance is 1 ½- 2 hours. Portable Integrity Testing For UF Membrane System Just like in Municipal water treatment plants, it is crucial to be able to test the entire system for integrity to ensure that no membranes have been broken during transportation or operation and that the potting which separates the dirty water from the clean water is securely intact. To address this need, ZENON has developed the first hand held Integrity Tester (Patent Pending) to be used on the HomespringTM Central Water Purifiers.
The hand-held Integrity Tester performs the same ASTM Pressure hold/decay test that is done on municipal membrane water plants daily. The Integrity Tester should be used at system commissioning to confirm that the system is performing as designed. This Integrity Test should be repeated during annual maintenance to reconfirm the system’s performance. Also, for peace of mind, the system can be Integrity Tested immediately after a boil water alert is put into effect to provide reassurance to the local health authorities that the system is performing correctly.
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Product Specifications The Homespring UF200 Central Water Purifiers are available in two (2) sizes allowing for selection of a system to match the size of the destination facility and water usage.
Product Certifications It is important for site managers to select water treatment devices that carry third party certifications for the claims they are making, especially with regards to water purification. The USEPA’s Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Water Purifiers is considered to be the most widely accepted both in North America and internationally as the most stringent test protocol in the water treatment industry today for a microbiological purifier. According to the USEPA, in order to be
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called a microbiological water purifier, the system must remove, kill or inactivate all types of disease-causing micro-organisms from the water, including bacteria, viruses and protozoan cysts so as to render the processed water safe for drinking. Therefore, to qualify, a microbiological water purifier must treat or remove all types of organisms as challenge tested within the Guide Protocol over a number of test units in various test water conditions over a prolonged period of time. The Homespring™ Central Water Purifier is the first and only POE mechanical water filtration device to have been tested and passed by BioVir Laboratories (NELAP and California Department of Health Services approved laboratory) and certified by the Water Quality Association as a Microbiological Water Purifier to the USEPA’s Guide Standard for Microbiological Water Purifiers. The Homespring™ purifier is also certified by NSF and WQA to ANSI/NSF Standard 42 (Aesthetic Effects) and ANSI/NSF Standard 53 (Health Effects). USEPA Microbiological Water Purifier
NSF Certification
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Installation The Homespring Central Water Purifier is installed where the water enters a structure; usually beside the water meter. The system has an inlet (1), clean water outlet (3) and a drain (5). Any plumbing work should be done by a licensed plumber. All installation work should be done to local plumbing and building codes. The Homespring Central Water Purifier should be commissioned by a Trained and Certified Homespring Service Technician. Nubian Water Systems can train and certify a local person(s) to perform the commissioning service and any qualified plumber to do the plumbing work.
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Installation time varies with the complexity and the amount of plumbing work that is required. Commissioning of the system involves flushing, sanitization of the HomespringTM system, setting up the controller, pressure differential testing and integrity testing. Typical installation times for installation and commissioning, when installed by one person, range from 2 ½-4 hours. Scalability The HomespringTM systems can be installed in parallel to achieve desired flow rates. Using a simple parallel installation design (see diagram below), Homespring units can be added or removed as local requirements dictate. Individual units can be bypassed for maintenance without interrupting the flow from adjacent units.
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The UF209 Homespring units are designed for 34 lpm intermittent service and the UF211 Homespring units are designed for 42 lpm intermittent service. Both are designed for 17 lpm flow rates for continuous service.
Supply to structure
GE Process and Water Technologies/ Zenon Environmental ZENON Environmental is a world leader in the development of municipal drinking water and wastewater treatment systems using its proprietary membrane technology. From their inception, the ZeeWeed®-based drinking water treatment systems have proven extremely successful in medium to large size facility applications where difficult-to-treat waters and demanding effluent targets are required. In the competitive marketplace of smaller drinking water systems, a product must offer simple, safe, reliable and effective treatment. ZENON has responded to this need by developing a group of standardized, modular products that brings the state-of-the-art ZeeWeed® technology to the smaller systems that need it most. The Homespring® Central Water Purifier is the smallest system of ZENON’s expansive product line and offers the ZeeWeed® ultrafiltration membrane in a compact, self-contained design that automatically self-cleans at regular intervals.
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The proven technical performance of ZeeWeed® membrane guarantees high quality water. The simplicity of operation, inherent redundancy, and cost-effectiveness of ZENON’s UF200 Homespring® Central Water Purifier provide peace of mind in a compact package. Frequently Asked Questions and Answers What does the Homespring Central Water Purifier do? The Homespring Central Water Purifier has been specifically designed to physically block and remove up to 99.99999% of bacteria, 99.999% of viruses, and parasites, including cryptosporidium and giardia, and eliminate cloudiness from your water, while allowing for essential natural minerals to pass through. The activated carbon filter removes chlorine to improve taste and odours. The system effectively filters all municipal, well and lake water at the point-of-entry, purifying your water before it flows throughout the rest of your home. Where is the Homespring Central Water Purifier installed? The Homespring Central Water Purifier is installed at the point where water enters the house to provide filtered water from every tap. Water is available on demand with no wasted water during filtration. How do I start my Homespring Central Water Purifier? Once the Homespring Central Water Purifier is installed, the system is working and immediately provides filtered water on demand to every tap in your home. There is no start or stop switch. If your main water valve is open, the Inlet and outlet valves are open, and Bypass valve is closed, the system is on. It makes no noise and you will see no moving parts while it is filtering water. Does the Homespring Central Water Purifier require electricity? The Homespring Central Water Purifier works off of your existing water pressure and no electricity is required to filter your water (unless a pump is required to increase water pressure). You will have filtered water through every tap even during a power failure. What happens if the power goes out? Nothing. The timer has a built in battery backup in the event of a power failure. The Homespring Central Water Purifier does not require power to filter water. If the power goes out during a scheduled cleaning, the system will return to filtering water and wait for the next scheduled time for cleaning. Does the Homespring Central Water Purifier affect the household water pressure? There is minimal effect on your existing water pressure. Even in cottages, there is no need for an additional water pump depending on your existing water pressure. Does it get rid of sulphur and leave in fluoride? The Homespring Central Water Purifier, when used with the carbon filter, will help reduce the effect of the sulphur smell if there are small quantities of sulphur in the water. The Homespring Central Water Purifier does not remove the fluoride from the water.
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How long does the automatic cleaning cycle take? The system backflushes itself daily to clean the membranes. It automatically flushes impurities down the drain at the homeowner’s pre-selected time. The cleaning cycle takes approximately 5-10 minutes and uses a minimal amount of water. What do I need to do if I go away for an extended period of time? Nothing. The Homespring Central Water Purifier will automatically clean the filter while you are away. The water used for cleaning is minimal. Can it be shut down in winter? If the cottage is not winterised, there is a draining and shutdown procedure where the filter is filled with a food-grade antifreeze (propylene glycol) for the winter. In the spring, the antifreeze is drained and the system is sanitised for use during cottage opening. This procedure must only be performed by a certified service person. How long does the system last? The system will generally last over 10 years if used on municipal water and can last from 5 to 10 years on surface/ lake waters depending on the level of contamination in the incoming water (based upon accelerated testing results – for complete details please see warranty information). How long does the activated carbon filter last? The Activated Carbon filters have been certified to filter over 400 000 Litres (approximately 105 000 US gallons). The average homeowner will find it necessary to change the activated carbon filter approximately every 12 months. The quality of water, amount of chlorine, other contaminants in the water, and the amount of water used determines the actual life of an Activated Carbon filter. What are the maintenance requirements? An annual maintenance inspection, membrane integrity check and carbon filter change (if used) must be performed annually be a certified Homespring Services Qualified Service Technician. Can I water my lawn with the Homespring Central Water Purifier? You can use filtered water outside if you wish. You may also choose to have a bypass installed if you use large amounts of water through your outside tap that does not need to be filtered. Company Details
NUBIAN WATER SYSTEMS PTY LTD 25-27 Whiting Street Artarmon NSW 2064 Tel: Fax: Email: Web: 02 9438 5522 02 9437 5244 enquiries@nubian.com.au www.nubian.com.au
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