Looking for UV Light as Disinfectant? Look no further! We are the manufactures and supplier of UVC LED Light Fixtures to Kill Mold & Bacterias. Get Quote.
3. • Historically, ultraviolet (UV) light has been used to disinfect water, surfaces and
the air.You may wonder if this technology works against airborne microbes or
generally improves the air quality of your home.This article will describe how UV
air purifiers work, whether they have been shown to be effective in cleaning the air
and their potential safety concerns.
4. What are UV light air purifiers?
• UV air purifiers are designed to use short-wave ultraviolet light (UV-C light) to
inactivate airborne pathogens and microorganisms like mold, bacteria and viruses.
They have the same ultimate goal of all air purifiers: to reduce indoor air
pollutants.The technology is also referred to as UV germicidal irradiation, or UVGI
air purifiers.This is different from other air purifier technologies that contain UV
light technology but do not use it directly against air pollutants.
5. • On the market, UV-C air purifiers are currently sold as stand-alone, freestanding
devices or as systems installed into pre-existing residential or commercial HVAC
units. As air is forced through the device, it passes UV lamps, which directly
attempt to disinfect the air by means of germicidal irradiation.The biggest safety
concern is that ozone may be generated during this process.
• Rarely a stand-alone product, UV-C light air purifiers often require additional
systems for full effectiveness and are most often included in larger High-efficiency
Particulate Arrestance (HEPA) air filtration systems. In fact, the EPA says that a
UV-C air purifier does not seem effective as a stand-alone unit because it cannot
trap or remove particles.
6. Background on ultraviolet light
• Germicidal UV light has been used in the treatment of tuberculosis and to disinfect
hospitals, kitchens, meat processing plants and laboratories.
• Electromagnetic radiation takes on many forms–from visible light to radio
waves to ultraviolet light. Here is some background on how different forms of
light have different energy levels:
• Light is made up of tiny particles called photons. As they travel, they vibrate back
and forth and trace a wave in space.The quicker they vibrate, the shorter the
distance between each wave.The slower the vibration, the longer the distance
between each wave.This wave-to-wave distance is called the light’s wavelength.
Long waves with slower vibrating photons have less energy. Short waves with
quicker vibrating particles have more energy.
7. Depending on their molecular makeup,
different materials in the world reflect and
absorb different wavelengths of light:
• Visible light has a wavelength between 400-700 nanometers long—the range that
affects the light receptors of your eyes.
• Infrared light, which you can feel as heat, is longer (700 to 1M nanometers).
• Ultraviolet, which you cannot feel or see, is shorter than visible light at 100 to 400
nanometers.
• Photons transmit electromagnetic energy when they encounter matter, and
ultraviolet light has high levels of energy.
• Ultraviolet light: UV-A, UV-B and UV-C
8. Ultraviolet is split into three sections:
• UV-A light: 315–400 nanometers with photons that vibrate just a little faster than
visible light
• UV-B light: 280–315 nanometers, with photons that vibrate even faster
• UV-C light: 100–280, with photos that vibrate the fastest and carry the most
energy
9. • Prolonged exposure to UVC light can cause temporary eye and skin damage, so
extra precautions should be taken if directly working with or around UVC lamps.
Today, UV light is mainly used to complement other established methods of
disinfecting and “sterilizing” sensitive scientific and medical equipment and
spaces, though such irradiative cleaning systems have found their way into
residential and commercial applications by UV light’s popularization as a purifier in
the past two decades.These products fall within the scope and exigency of
improving cleanliness and reducing environmental pollution, rather than
combating infectiousness.
