Does the age of my UV bulb affect its effectiveness?
Yes! Your germicidal ultraviolet bulb’s effectiveness will decrease with age and hours used.
How often should I replace my UV bulb?
At least once a year or to ensure maximum effectiveness every six months. Purely UV™ lamps are guaranteed for 8,000 hours under normal operation. However, your lamps effectiveness will be influenced by the machine it is operating in and the environment surrounding the lamp’s use.
- Due to a frequent switching ON/OFF of the germicidal UV lamps, the service life of UV lamps is greatly diminished. This is caused by a surge of an electrical current that wears out the elements in the UV lamp(s).
Always follow your UV device manufacturer's safety and handling instructions. When new lamps are installed they should be clean.
My UV bulb doesn’t seem to be putting maximum or even light?
Special care should be taken not to touch the glass part of the lamps with your fingers as this can deposit oils on the glass, which can create a dead space on the lamp’s surface and also shorten the life of the germicidal UV lamp.
What is germicidal ultraviolet?
UV-C light is germicidal - i.e., it deactivates the DNA of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens and thus destroys their ability to multiply and cause disease. Specifically, UV-C light causes damage to the nucleic acid of microorganisms by forming covalent bonds between certain adjacent bases in the DNA. The formation of such bonds prevent the DNA from being unzipped for replication, and the organism is unable to reproduce. In fact, when the organism tries to replicate, it dies
Why is UV-B harmful while UV-C (germicidal UV) is not?
The difference has to do with the ability of UV rays to penetrate body surfaces. UVC has an extremely low penetrating ability. It is nearly completely absorbed by the outer dead layer of the skin where it does little harm. It does reach the most superficial layer of the eye where overexposure can cause irritation, but it does not penetrate to the top of the lens of the eye and can not cause cataracts. UVC is completely stopped by the ordinary eye glasses and by ordinary clothing.
Does UV really work?
UV has been proven under numerous studies for its ability to destroy the DNA of germs, viruses, mold, spores, fungi, and bacteria. UV works on different levels depending on what one wants to accomplish.
- Residential Application - the objective is to create a cost effective and continuous method of cleaning the air. The kill rate of air pollutants is a function of space, time and the intensity of UV. Because UV has been proven to work in a cumulative manner, the polluted air is cleaned over time and subsequent passages over the UV lamp - the same way like we wash our hands more than once a day to periodically get rid of germs. Germs are constantly growing in our indoor environment and pollute the air we breathe. UV technology gives us the opportunity to clean the indoor air continuously in a cost effective manner.
- Commercial Application - like hospitals, clean rooms and food processing plants, the objective would be to have instantaneous kill. Therefore, UV lights would blanket the air passage system and the airflow directed over and between lamps, which provide for maximum kill of air pollutants. This process is expensive.
What are the most effective ways to purify the air we breathe?
The four most effective methods of purifying the air we breathe are: ultraviolet light, active oxygen, purifying hydroxyls, and negative ions.
Has UV technology been tested?
Yes. Westinghouse Electric, General Electric, Penn State University and Harvard School of Public Health conducted laboratory tests on the effectiveness of UV light on microorganisms. UV light has also been used in wastewater plants and commercial settings for over 60 years.
Have indoor airborne contaminates increased?
Yes! Up to 95% of our lives today are spent indoors producing more house dust. Changes to homes today have caused microorganisms to grow at accelerated rates. Self defrost refrigerators, air conditioned and energy tight homes, are a few examples for environments that provide breeding grounds for accelerated growth of mold and bacteria that mix with the air we breathe. Airborne house dust is a by-product of our living indoors, from dead skin, to hair, to paint flakes, to dust mite feces.
Don’t air filters eliminate germs?
Air filters do trap microbes; but even the most sophisticated air filters do not contain 100% of the germs. Microorganisms not trapped will reproduce very quickly and contaminate the indoor environment. In some cases the air filters become breeding grounds for new colonies of germs.
More Questions about air quality?
Aerias™ Air Quality Sciences website is a great resource for more in depth information relating to air quality questions.
How do ultraviolet water purifiers work?
UV water purification units contain one or more germicidal ultraviolet lamps. The germicidal lamp is a short wave low pressure mercury vapor tubes that produces ultraviolet wavelengths that are lethal to micro-organisms. Approximately 95% of the ultraviolet energy emitted is at the mercury resonance line of 254 nanometers. This wavelength is in the region of maximum germicidal effectiveness and is highly lethal to virus, bacteria and mold spores. Therefore, the water or air that passes through the chamber is exposed to the germicidal UV light and the genetic material of the micro-organism is deactivated, which prevents them from reproducing and renders them harmless.