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How Do Ultraviolet Light Air Sanitizers Work?

Jan 31, 2021 | UV-C

According to history, UV (ultraviolet) light has long been used in disinfecting the air, surfaces, and water. You’re maybe trying to figure out its functions against airborne microbes or just to improve your home’s air quality in general. In this post, we will tell you the way UV air sanitizers function, either they’ve been proven to have a positive impact on the air, and their safety concerns.

UV Light Air Sanitizers: What Are They?

These are made to make use of UV-C light (short-wave ultraviolet light) for making airborne pathogens including microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and mold inactive. They’ve got a similar main goal of every air sanitizer, which is to minimize indoor air pollutants. We can also call this technology UVGI air sanitizers or UV germicidal irradiation. It’s different from every other air sanitizer tech which contains ultraviolet light technology, but doesn’t directly make use of it against air pollutants.

Doctors have made use of the germicidal ultraviolet light to treat tuberculosis and for the disinfection of laboratories, meat processing plants, kitchens, and hospitals. As far back as 1908 in France, people made use of UV-C for the disinfection of municipal water supplies.

How Do Ultraviolet Air Sanitizers Make Use Of UV-C Light?

In the UV-C air purification system, the main disinfectant activity is done by ultraviolet light. The emitted extra energy, more compared to visible light, can change the molecules absorbing it, and the DNA is specifically susceptible to these alterations. UV light bombards any microorganism that’s around the UV lamp, then gets rid of the DNA they require to stay alive.

Anytime one has a sunburn after they get back from the beach, it’s as a result of radiation burns from the UV light that the sun emits. The skin gives an inflammatory response by turning red anytime the UV radiation indirectly damages its DNA, and this has the potential of resulting in skin cancer.

Since bacteria have a single cell, they need their DNA to stay alive. This principle is what brought about UV light air sanitizers. If there’s sufficient damage to the DNA of a bacteria cell, a self-destruct mechanism is triggered, which will render it harmless.

How Does An Air Sanitizer Clean The Air?

The mode of function of UV-C light air is simple. As said earlier, they’re made to make use of UV lamps which have the potentials of altering microorganisms’ DNA and destroy or just inactivate them. It might have a bluish light or not even visible, as this is determined by the emitter’s material (for example, quartz or phosphor). According to the EPA, residential units make use of mercury lamps emitting UV-C light whose wavelength is 254nm.

In general, ultraviolet air sanitizers are a mixture or a forced-air system with another filter such as a HEPA filter. Because of that, the air sanitizer’s ultraviolet light acts together alongside other processes to make the air clean. In-house air is forced from the units then ventilated via a chamber that has bulbs that emit light around the frequency of the UV-C. Usually, the UV-C lamp sanitizer is positioned downstream of the filter in any portable air sanitizer. Its performance can be affected by several factors like the UV lamp’s type, temperature, and humidity.

If you’d like to install LED UV-C lamp wherever you are, you can reach out to us now for the best service. We make use of LED UV-C lamp with a wavelength of 254nm as it is the best for disinfection according to EPA. We also install the laps in your HVAC, and its rays won’t fall on your skin, thereby not causing any harm. Contact us now, and you’ll be glad you did.