The key reasons you need a commercial mixing valve (thermostatic mixing valve)

Are you aware that a commercial mixing valve (or thermostatic mixing valve) is mandatory in certain commercial environments? Wherever hot water taps are accessible to customers in commercial environments, the temperature of that water needs to be safe. The same goes for your home.

 In this article, we'll explain:

• What this valve is
• Domestic use
• Commercial use
• Solar hot water protection

Let's start by explaining what it is and how it works.

What is a commercial mixing valve (thermostatic mixing valve)?

Let's call it a TMV for short. It's a cleverly designed valve used to control the temperature of the water at the outlets.

Here's how it works.

With the help of inbuilt sensors, it mixes the cold and hot water before it comes out of the tap in order to provide water at a consistently safe temperature in the shower, bath, and other outlets in domestic and commercial environments.

The valve brings the temperature of the water down to a safe outlet temperature of between 35°C and 45°C, depending on what it's been set at by a licensed plumber. These valves are life savers for people who are vulnerable such as young children or the elderly.

Domestic use

It's important to have a TMV installed in your home to protect your family from scalding, especially if someone living with you is young, elderly, or living with disability.

Your storage hot water system at home is normally set at a minimum of 60°C to 65°C to prevent any risk of legionella bacteria forming.

A continuous flow hot water system can also deliver hot water at a maximum of 60°C.

This is why you need a tempering valve or TMV installed.

The valve counteracts the high temperature by bringing the hot water down to a safe temperature at the outlet and provides a reliable and stable mixed water temperature. This is especially important because it protects everyone in your home when showering, washing hands, doing the washing up and other tasks involving hot water.

Commercial use

Imagine a resident in aged care getting scalded by hot water because the premises don't have a TMV installed. It would be unthinkable. As the business owner, you can be liable if an injury occurs. This is why TMVs are mandatory in aged care, schools and healthcare premises.

A TMV is very accurate in delivering water at the set temperature, usually to +/-1°C.

Here are some businesses that need a thermostatic/commercial mixing valve installed.

• Nursing homes, residential aged care environments
• Nurseries, schools and after school care
• Shopping centre washrooms
• Hospitals
• Respite homes
• Hotels

There's another scenario which requires a TMV.

Solar hot water 

We've briefly touched on commercial and domestic use, but there's a scenario which you may not know about.

If you use solar hot water heating, it's essential to have a TMV. There will be days when the sun heats the water higher than other days. On an extremely hot and sunny day, the water temperature can rise to well over the safe temperature limit. You don't want to run the risk of you or someone else getting scalded in the event of cold water isolation.

The features and benefits

We've mentioned a few benefits in the article so far, but to summarize, here's a list of the key features and benefits of a thermostatic/commercial mixing valve:

• Prevents scalding
• Protects vulnerable people
• Keeps outlet temperatures to a safe temperature at the outlet
• Inbuilt disinfection function for the management and control of legionella bacteria growth
• Provides high stability of mixed water temperature even under changing inlet conditions
• Ensures rapid shutdown of mixed outlet flow in the event of hot or cold water supply isolation

There are a few different types available on the market, such as the AVG Thermostatic Mixing Valve in Stainless Box TMV20BPPIB Bypass available online at Plumbing Sales.

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