The ability of Ultraviolet light to kill pathogens has been known for well over 100 years, but has come to the forefront of the lighting industry recently thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. This has resulted in a lot of interest in UV lighting, but it is important to take the time to understand it before implementing in your facility and to work with a company who understands the intricacies to ensure a successful and safe setup for your facility. Here is a list of what you should determine before taking the next step:
Understanding How UV Light Can Accomplish Your Goals
UV light is outside of the visible light spectrum. Within UV there are three subsets; UV-A, UV-B and UV-C light. Most UV lighting solutions utilize a broad spectrum that includes all of these. That said, primarily UV-C in the 200nm-280nm is the main power that kills/deactivates 99.9% of bacteria, mold and viruses like Covid-19.
This IES report on UV lighting from April 2020 confirms the findings relating to UV lighting’s success in thwarting viruses like the Coronavirus when used at the proper dosage. Specifically, the UV-C photons photochemically interact with the RNA and DNA molecules of a given virus at a microscopic level to render these microbes non-infectious.
How Can We Ensure Our UV Light System Can Be Safely Implemented?
It is important to understand that any UV lighting solution can be harmful to individuals or other organisms present. This is why UV lighting fixtures are often controlled with an app or remote that works through walls, and in addition are designed with a motion sensor to shut down when movement is detected. In general UV lights should be operated by someone who understands how long the UV light fixture needs to be operating to clean a given area. This is where Premier Lighting and the manufacturer will work with you to develop a roadmap to determine the length of time to disinfectant a given room, like the classroom example above.
You may also hear about 405 nanometer Antimicrobial LED lighting. 405nm light is just within the visible light spectrum and often times these fixtures also provide general lighting when not in disinfection mode. However because they are not in the UV-light spectrum, 405nm light fixtures will not kill/deactivate viruses like Covid. They are designed to combat lesser evils like foodborne risks (Listeria, E coli), infection/surface contamination risks (MRSA, Staph) and mold.
What UV Disinfection Light Fixture is Best For Us?
There are two main styles of UV lighting fixtures in the market; permanently installed UV light fixtures and portable UV light fixtures. Portable UV fixtures have been the most popular as they are versatile in that they can be wheeled room-to-room to specific areas of need. In the field, these portable UV lighting fixtures are used in conjunction with standard manual cleaning measures to disinfect and save on chemicals. Examples of this include:
Cello Lighting UVCART300 – $3500 each
Puro Sentry M2 – $8995.00 each
Cello Lighting UVCART1000 – $16,700.00 each
The highest rated and best seller however is the Cello Lighting UVCARTCOMBO300 (list price $4900), which is a 4-in-1 unit that not only provides on-demand UV-C air and surface disinfection when the room is unoccupied but also NPBI / HEPA air purification. For jobs needing multiple units, please request a quote through the links above for volume pricing.
Permanent UV light fixtures are placed in rooms of need either through a recessed troffer as a downlight fixture or wall-mounted. They can be set to disinfect on a timed cycle which means limited maintenance time, although they don’t offer the same flexibility that the mobile units do. Examples of this include:
Olympia Lighting UVW-70W-UVC-120V – $629.95
Olympia Lighting UVW-100W-UVC-120V – $949.95
Olympia Lighting UVW-150W-UVC-120V – $1099.95
Puro UV Helo F1 – $3799.95
Puro UV Helo F2 – $7999.95
Another method for deploying UVC Disinfection technology is through UVC HVAC/Ductwork solutions. These LED UVC strips are embedded into ductwork and come in 1′, 2′ and 4′ strips to suit the application. These UVC strips utilize the same 265nm light to disinfect the air system before it enters a given room.
Olympia Lighting UVS-1FT-30W-UVC-120V – $644.95 each
Olympia Lighting UVS-2FT-60W-UVC-120V – $1199.95 each
Olympia Lighting UVS-4FT-120W-UVC-120V – $2499.95 each
Due to the interest in UV-C technology, there are a lot of false claims being made by manufacturers and plenty of direct-from-China product infiltrating the market without properly informing customers. Premier Lighting takes the time to vet all options and provide only trusted solutions that will safely accomplish the goals you have. We work with the manufacturers to get you the right solution at the best price. Please fill out the form below to provide us more information on your application and one of our UV lighting experts will be in touch to discuss the next step.
