According to the CDC, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is the use of ultraviolet energy to kill viral bacterial and fungal organisms. UVGI fixtures produce UVC energy, which has shorter wavelengths and most penetrating UVA and UVB rays and poses less risk to human health. Upper Room UVGI refers to a disinfection zone of UV energy that is located above people in the rooms they occupy. This kills airborne pathogens in the room when they are released. Fixtures are installed to prevent UV exposure to people in the room.
Air passes through the disinfection zone from flowing air flowing through HVAC system fans or open windows. The airborne pathogens are killed once they receive an appropriate amount of UV energy. The particles remain in the air but they’re no longer infectious. For airborne viral particles, upper-room UVGI systems provide air changes per hour that are similar to the introduction of clean air into space.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/ventilation/uvgi.html
An active air disinfection panel light fixture is a hybrid unit utilizing a standalone UVC deactivation chamber with airflow technology in conjunction with an LED-backlit flat panel light fixture. We call our fixture Cluvaire, which stands for Clean UVC Air Disinfecting Luminaire. However, with our hybrid approach to the system, it can be used with or without the backlight flat panel. The benefit of that is if you do not have a 2×4 or 2×2 fixture in the ceiling but have linear fixtures or pendants, this unit can be added to the application as a separate standalone system using the UVC deactivation equipment we provide.
Active Air Disinfection utilizing Germicidal UVC Technology disinfects the air or deactivates the mold, viruses, or bacteria airborne by drawing air into the system, passing through the UVC light chamber, and then expelling the clean air down into the room. So as the air gets drawn into the chamber, we have the proper fluence intensity which is the time it takes to deactivate pathogens and expel the clean air back into the room.
With proper installation, the unit utilizes the current airflow from the established HVAC system and creates an airflow where pathogens are rising into the air. They get sucked into the fixture and then put back down towards the floor. So clean air is constantly being circulated down back toward the floor where people are talking and working.
Our UVC air panel light fixtures can be used in schools, banks, restaurants, retail stores, airports, transportation facilities, doctor and medical offices, dentists, reception areas, lobbies, hallways bathrooms, break rooms, offices, bullpens, meeting rooms, and dining areas, among others. Now, what you want to think here is a lot of the buildings back in the 40s 50s 60s 70s, even to this day, have zero airflows from the outside besides the main door, the windows are all sealed. You can’t crack them open to get fresh air in and it’s all reliant on the established HVAC system to pump in the air.
Due to the lack of fresh air and long turnaround time for air exchange through the standalone HVAC system, adding in the supplementary UVC air panel lights allows you to increase the chances of deactivating the pathogens, viruses, mold, and airborne bacteria.
There are no additional costs to your HVAC system, as it is completely separate. The panels can be easily installed into a 2×2 or 2×4 grid ceiling. Surface mount kits are also available for drywall ceiling applications.
The UVC air panel lights are better than HEPA filters because you do not have to constantly change out the filters, which can be expensive and frequent. It’s also added to the HVAC system where there’s no HEPA filter involved. UVC is lethal to airborne pathogens like viruses and eliminates rather than trapping them in a filtration system. So, we just get rid of the pathogens when a HEPA filter system traps them in the filters.
We use Philips germicidal ultraviolet light technology in each one of our air disinfection panel lights. They work well with existing panel infrastructures, or with anything that exists as it taps right into the existing ceiling grid. We have low maintenance costs. The units only require one annual lamp change and unit cleaning per year. The lamp is rated for 9,000 hours. So, if you run it 24/7, you’ll need to change that lamp within one year. We do have an indicator light on there that monitors the time the lamp is on as well. You will be notified when it’s time to replace the lamp. We have low power usage using only 36 watts for the Philips UVC germicidal lamp.
