All existing bath and shower installations in public, residential and commercial premises should be upgraded to provide the same protection from injurious scalding hot water as is now necessary in new homes. This is easy to achieve by fitting failsafe Honeywell thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs) in the supplies to hot water outlets.
An amendment to Part G of the Building Regulations requires housebuilders to install TMVs on baths and showers from October 2009. Facilities managers can easily protect existing installations by fitting Honeywell TMVs in the hot and cold water supplies to baths, showers and basins. They ensure a constant safe temperature at the point of delivery by blending hot and cold supplies to provide a uniform, safe preset temperature.
In healthcare, thermostatic mixing valves certified to Buildcert TMV3, such as Honeywell TM200VP, must be fitted. Valves to the domestic TMV2 standard, such as Honeywell TM300, are acceptable for most other premises but a risk assessment should be carried out to determine if the facilities are used by vulnerable people, such as the elderly, young children or the mentally or physically disabled. If so, TMV3 valves should be installed to provide the higher safety level.Â