When you think about cleaning indoor air, most people think of HEPA filters — which is no surprise, as these filters are the foundation of quality air cleaning and still the gold standard for air purifiers.
But did you know there’s another tech out there that can be used for air cleaning purposes? Specifically, ultraviolet (UV) light has been used in air purifiers to disinfect air of harmful pathogens and microbes for years.
If you’re wondering “how do air purifiers with UV-C light work?”, and whether you should consider getting one to keep your air clean, keep scrolling! This post tells you all about how this device works, and if they’re worth the investment.
What is UV Light?
First, let’s cover what UV light is. You’ve probably heard of it before, especially in the summer. It’s the one thing that swimmers and beach-goers everywhere are cautious about, and what they apply their sunblock for.
But what is it? Light, as we know, comes in many forms. UV light is simply just another form of light and operates much like radio waves and X-rays do. It’s invisible and considered a type of electromagnetic radiation.
UV radiation is classified into three primary types: ultraviolet A (UVA), ultraviolet B (UVB), and ultraviolet C (UVC). These groups are based on the measure of their wavelength, which is measured in nanometers. Of the three, UV-C has the optimal wavelength to eliminate germs, viruses and bacteria,
While this sounds dangerous, it’s this ability that makes it an effective part of an air purifier — it has the same effect on smaller organisms, such as mold, mildew, viruses, and bacteria.
What are Air Purifiers with UV-C Light?
Air Purifiers with UV-C Light are designed to use short-wave ultraviolet light (known as UV-C light) for their ability to destroy and neutralize airborne pathogens. This process is also known as UV germicidal irradiation — which simply means it destroys the pathogens on a DNA level and inhibits their ability to spread further.
These devices have components that create UV-C light, but this doesn’t act alone. It supports other purifying technologies in the device to reduce the number of harmful pathogens in the air.
As the air purifier forcefully cycles air through its inner components, it exposes the air to its UV lamps. These lamps shine UV-C light directly onto the air, attempting to disinfect it via germicidal irradiation.
How do these air purifiers use UV-C light?
Let’s dive a little bit deeper into how UV-C light in these air purifiers irradiates or destroy pathogens.
Think about the last time you got sunburned after a long day outdoors. That redness and inflammation of your skin are because the DNA in your skin cells was directly damaged by the UV light in sunrays. This is because UV light is packed with extra energy, much more than “regular” light. This energy essentially overloads your cells, which causes damage.
Like your skin cells, smaller organisms, such as mold, bacteria, germs, and viruses, react to UV light in the same way. These organisms are so small they are equivalent to one cell, so you can imagine what happens to them.
The UV light air purifier bombards them with UV-C radiation, which damages the DNA structures they need to live. As these structures become damaged, they lose their ability to infect or harm you, as well as their ability to multiply. They are, in short, rendered completely harmless.
How do Air Purifiers with UV-C Light clean the air?
The way Air Purifiers with UV-C Light work is quite simple. As we explained earlier, these appliances use UV lamps to alter and damage the DNA structures of harmful organisms. This makes them unable to affect anyone, or spread further indoors.
To give you a better idea of how this works, what you should know is that these devices are a combination of a forced-air system, a filtration system, and UV lamps. So, indoor air is forced through the appliance, passes through several filters, and is exposed to UV-C light. This means indoor air is circulated through a very stringent cleaning process.
But you might be thinking: “If this light can hurt these organisms, isn’t it dangerous for me to use it at home? Won’t I be exposed to the same effects?” The good thing is that these appliances are safe to use, because the UV lamp is encased within the appliance and is meant to address only the filters and the air passing through. You won’t see it at all. Plus, this unit was designed with the user’s safety in mind. The unit and the lamps will not turn on if the cover is not properly locked into place to avoid any exposure!
How effective are UV air purifiers?
The effectiveness of this air cleaning device depends on a lot of factors, which are:
- If the microbes and pathogens come into contact with the UV lamp\
- The power of dosage of UV light the UV lamp emits
- How long the microbes and pathogens are exposed to UV light.
Generally, many UV light air purifiers can potentially destroy airborne pollutants. But many manufacturers make exaggerated claims about their product’s ability to kill and inactivate said pathogens, and the sizes of rooms they can effectively service.
Luckily, UV Care is one of the few companies that offer UV air purifiers that do work! Our UV light air purifiers, such as our Supreme Plasma UV-C Air Cleaner, all make use of revolutionary UV-C light engineering that puts our devices at the forefront of germicidal technology.
Our UV light air purifiers have all gone through several tests in FDA and EPA-certified labs, and are proven to reliably kill at least 99.9% of germs, viruses, and bacteria using our UV-C lamps.
So, equipped with the powerful UV-C light in our air purifiers, you can reduce your exposure to pathogens and keep your indoor spaces fresh and safe for you and your loved ones!
Key Takeaway
If you’ve ever asked the question: “how do UV light air purifiers work?” then all you need to know about this appliance is right here in this post.
To recap, they use UV-C light to very effectively inactivate viruses, bacteria, mold, and other harmful microorganisms by breaking down their DNA, rendering them useless.
However, not all UV air purifiers are as effective as others — so stick with UV Care’s UV light air purifiers to get all of the advantages that these devices offer! Contact us today to order now!