This year has been quite a journey for Hydropath. We have been noticed in sectors we have not traditionally managed to break into easily, and the customers approaching us have always had the same problems. So why are they choosing Hydropath Technology now? That is what I want to explore in this post.
By Alonit Stefanini Wainwright, Hydropath Technology
So far we are actively in front of new customers in wastewater treatment, swimming pools, power generation, desalination, agriculture, and even the car wash industry.
The problem with being useful everywhere
I have always thought that the very versatility of Hydropath technology has held back our growth. Because HydroFLOW® can be used across such an array of sectors, it is hard to become the requisite expert in every one of them. Each sector has its own experts, its own member organisations, award ceremonies and clubs to join, and its own language that quietly excludes outsiders.
Even water treatment has its experts, and understandably they tend to focus on water chemistry. HydroFLOW® doesn’t fit easily into that field of study. But in recent years the acknowledgement has finally been coming, in accreditations such as the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label and GreenPro certification.
For anyone new here, a brief overview of what we do: a HydroFLOW® unit installs around a pipe (no cutting, no chemicals) and induces a signal into the water that reduces limescale, biofouling and improves filtration. The net benefits: energy saved, water saved, less chemical usage, longer equipment life and lower maintenance costs. What is not to like? So what has stopped companies from giving HydroFLOW® a go?
I think there is plenty of evidence that each sector chooses a particular water treatment regime, and does not deviate from it.
Example one: the building trade
In England, the guidance that sits under Part L of the Building Regulations is explicit. The Building Services Compliance Guide states: “Where the mains total water hardness exceeds 200 parts per million, provision should be made to treat the feed water … to reduce the rate of accumulation of limescale.” Yet understandably, given everything else involved in constructing a building to strict safety standards, limescale treatment is rarely prioritised.
Limescale builds up over time, quietly reducing the efficiency of boilers and appliances. The US Department of Energy puts the fuel penalty of even a fraction of a millimetre of scale at 2%, rising towards 7% as the scale’s composition worsens. Now imagine that across a commercial building like a hotel: a boiler room, water heaters, showers, a commercial kitchen with dishwashers and ice machines. The inefficiencies rise, the costs rise, and the customer experience diminishes. When a substandard limescale treatment method is chosen, it is the end user who suffers.
With over 30 years of experience in limescale treatment, we offer our expertise and our reputation as well as our technology. This is what Hydropath does, day in, day out. HydroFLOW® is easy to install, easy to retrofit, and built to last. We regularly have customers ring up to ask when they need to replace their unit, and we get to tell them: “It’s still working, but thank you very much for calling.” Another satisfied customer.
We are grateful to specifiers and contractors such as Derry Building Services, one of the most technically advanced M&E design, build and maintenance contractors in the UK, and Clancy who choose HydroFLOW®. We thank them for choosing a quality brand to match their quality service.
Example two: swimming pools
Pool operators follow strict guidelines, as they should. The safety of swimmers is paramount. But often that means continuing to chlorine-dose and backwash at frequencies that are no longer necessary, and paying for it in heating costs and wasted water. With Hydropath’s expertise and HydroFLOW® technology, pool operators can improve filtration, reduce backwash frequency and reduce chlorine usage. The savings in water, heat, maintenance and chemicals end up improving the experience of the swimmers themselves.
The mindset shift
This year I have noticed something change. I have joined the Cross-Sector Water Innovation Network, which is looking outside traditional water treatment for answers to the water crises that every one of us is feeling and the industry must address. They are looking beyond the normal traditions to deal with old problems, and I believe the core message Hydropath has been saying for years is finally resonating.
I have watched with real interest how keen these industries now are to trial nature-based solutions. It highlights for me that sometimes we humans are re-discovering why things were done a certain way in the past. Only now we need to prove to ourselves that they work, with analysis, facts, figures and data. On a personal level, I want nature-based solutions to get a fair and full implementation: it is good for biodiversity, for nature and for people. I have always thought that focusing on net zero alone was never a fully holistic answer to the environmental crisis in front of us.
In the near future, I look forward to technology companies like Hydropath getting our chance to be trialled in the same way.
The missing mechanism
I recently read an article that told me I am not alone in these observations. It is validating to hear other companies say it plainly:
We do not lack innovations, or indeed innovators. What is lacking is the mechanism to adopt them.What strikes me most is who published it: Ofwat’s own innovation team, with British Water. The regulator now recognises the blocker. Springboarded by the far-reaching and damning Cunliffe report, I hope this momentum continues.
Hydropath is ready
On a business level, we are ready: a proven solution that can contribute greatly to some of the sector’s biggest water treatment issues, and we are still discovering new applications where HydroFLOW® solves a long-standing problem in a new way.
If you are a water company, a specifier, or an operator anywhere between a boiler room and a desalination plant, or you simply want to explore a collaboration, talk to us. Or start with how the technology works.
