Many facilities now cycle the air inside every 15 to 20 minutes, being replaced with clean, outside air. In spaces like an airplane, systems are optimized to supply fresh, filtered outside air as often as every 3 to 4 minutes. What can you do when your air becomes contaminated before it can be replaced? And how can you be sure that your air coming from outside is truly clean?
Supplying commercial UV light to your HVAC system presents a solid solution.
What is UV Light?
You have probably heard of UV light in terms of the sun and getting a burn at the beach. But what is it, exactly?
Ultraviolet light is a form of electromagnetic radiation that emits shorter wavelengths than the human eye can see. UV-A and UV-B light are the types that cause sun damage to your skin. Another form, UV-C light, is increasingly taking center stage as an effective cleaning agent.
UV-C light is now used to clean and disinfect everything from airplanes to hospital rooms. It began as a tool for eliminating biological contaminants from water in water treatment facilities, and its use has now spread into both the commercial and residential HVAC sectors.
How Does UV Light Work?
UV-C light is effective in part because this type of light coming from the sun doesn’t usually penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere. This means that many organisms don’t have a natural defense against it. For example, UV-C light can break the outer protein coating of some well-known viruses like airborne human coronaviruses, disrupting their nucleic acids. When this happens, it causes the organisms to die. When it comes to killing off bacteria, UV light triggers something called cytosine or thymine dimers in the organism’s DNA which prevents them from reproducing and causes deadly mutations.
How Does UV Lighting Clean Air Inside an HVAC System?
To clean the air, UV lighting is typically installed directly inside a commercial air duct system. These lights might be installed in your ceiling or another practical location inside the ducts. The lights shine on the duct’s interior space, cleaning the incoming air before it gets circulated or recirculated into your facility.
Typically, UV-C products are installed right inside the coil system. This is ideal because this positioning gives the air close contact with the cleansing light. The air needs to be exposed to UV light for a long enough time to deactivate the organism. When the light makes direct contact with germs, even for just a few seconds, it kills them off.
In addition, being placed inside the duct system leaves little chance for human error. Exposure to UV light can damage a person’s eyes and cause burns to their skin, so operating the disinfecting lights in a closed space is optimal for safety.
The Benefits of UV Light in Commercial HVAC Systems
Having UV lighting inside your commercial HVAC system has many benefits including:
- A potentially reduced rate of infections in your employees caused by airborne bacteria and viruses
- Air that’s free of fungi and mold
- Fewer lost work hours due to allergies and other respiratory ailments
- Improved system efficiency
- Decreased energy costs
- Reduction in clogs in the condensate drain line
- Increased productivity
Knowing the air at work is being cleaned and disinfected can help slow the rate of people falling sick within your workplace. With the pandemic still on, this can be an invaluable tool. Clean air can also bring peace of mind to employees and encourage an atmosphere of trust with management.
Having a commercial HVAC system that includes UV lighting can be a solid investment in the health and future of your company.
Contact Central Florida Store Services for top-level facility management. Learn about the comprehensive cleaning services we offer, including UV lighting and electrostatic disinfection. Get a free estimate today and stay clean!
For nearly 20 years, Central Florida Store Services has been providing facility maintenance, HVAC, refrigeration and general contracting services for the Florida market. We take care of the legwork, so you do not have to.
