Ozone is a very effective oxidiser but it has a short life. The ozonator produces ozone gas that is injected in to the pool circulation system to aid the residual sanitiser. Ozone is becoming a popular back up for chlorine systems and salt chlorinators.
Again, there has been some clever marketing at work to promote the ozonator as the greenest of green and the cleanest of clean. What they fail to mention is that while the ozonator is a very good oxidiser and sanitiser, it is in fact toxic. It can only disinfect the pool water at point of contact. As the water goes through the machine, it sanitises but it leaves no residual sanitiser in the main pool to protect the bathers. So when you use ozone there needs to be a residual sanitiser such as chlorine.
Typically, they add on what is basically a salt chlorinator. But the way they’re marketing it, if you didn’t know much about pools, the ozonator appears to be the sanitiser but it’s not. What they’re doing is taking an old technology and dressing it up to make it appear as an eco-friendly pool cleaner. But you still get a chlorine pool at the end of the day.
There are other drawbacks: the ozonator is not cheap. Ozone gas is highy toxic, so the ozone generator must be installed in a way that it will prevent the ozone gas getting into the main pool water. Because it only works at point of contact, ozone requires an additional residual sanitiser most commonly chlorine and its associated chemicals and their ongoing costs. It only works when the pump is running thereby driving up your electricity bill. Overall, an ozonator is an expensive add onthat promises more than it can deliver.
Compare this to the Enviroswim ES3, the world’s most effective swimming pool water purification system.