Indoor Air Quality is of increasing importance.
Today's buildings are designed with central heating and air-conditioning systems. With elaborate air duct systems, an entire building's air supply is continuously recirculated, over and over again with the occupants at risk.
This concern is strikingly important when one considers the variety of microorganisms exist within a host who will inadvertently introduce them into the environment. Something as simple as a cough or a sneeze will contain numerous droplet nuclei that act as a microorganism's airborne vehicle. Once airborne, the microorganism can travel freely through a building's air handling system to any and all occupants.
Germ-O-Ray Germicidal Lamp Fixtures address the shortcomings of standard indoor air quality treatment such as filters. Filters typically trap and remove airborne particles such as dust and other nonmicrobial allergens.
Unfortunately, filters cannot capture and eliminate airborne microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and molds. Germ-O-Ray Germicidal Lamp Fixtures addresses this problem by employing the special properties of ultraviolet light to eliminate microorganisms from an air handling system. Germ-O-Ray fixtures are used either alone or in conjunction with standard indoor air treatments like air filters.
What is Ultraviolet Light?
Ultraviolet light is part of the full light spectrum radiated by the sun. This spectrum (pictured on the right) is comprised of varying light classifications such as Infrared, Visible Light and Ultraviolet. Each of these classifications is defined by a particular wavelength.
Ultraviolet light registers in a range of wavelengths from 400 nanometers (a wavelength measurement) to just below 100 nanometers (nm). Within this range, ultraviolet (UV) light is divided into subclasses: longwave (UVA), middlewave (UVB), and shortwave (UVC).
Each of these wavelengths has a number of different applications...from dermatology to fiber optic curing to insect attraction to air disinfection. And for any specific application, there is a specific wavelength that is most effective.
For air disinfection, the most effective wavelength is found at 254 nanometers. Germ-O-Ray Air Disinfection Fixtures are specifically designed to concentrate UVC light at that level.
How Does Ultraviolet (UVC) Light Disinfect?
Simply put, UVC light literally sterilizes microorganisms. This results in an organism that cannot reproduce and is rendered virtually harmless. Indeed, UVC energy can destroy DNA in up to 99% of all airborne pathogens. Sterilization is achieved when microorganisms are exposed to UVC light energy for a specific amount of time.
During that exposure, UVC energy penetrates the microorganism's outer cell structure and alters the cell's DNA. The altered DNA prevents cell replication, effectively causing the cell to die.
How Effective is this Control?
UVC disinfectants have been employed for decades. Following World War II, healthcare facilities readily relied on UVC fixtures to help battle the spread of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. From these early health care applications, other installations quickly followed.
Today, UVC fixtures are common in a wide array of places: homes and offices.... food and beverages processors.... laboratories and clean rooms.... water treatment facilities..... doctor's offices.... prisons or holding cells.... airports.... almost anyplace a concern for clean air exists.
Are Germ-O-Ray Products Safe?
All Germ-O-Ray Germicidal Lamp products are safety-tested to international standards by Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL'S). In addition to those tests, Germ-O-Ray fixtures employ such safety features as electrical safety switches and UVC filtering viewpoints. It should be noted that prolonged exposure to UVC light is recommended. It can cause temporary irritation of both eyes and skin.
"In-Room" Germ-O-Ray Fixtures
In-room Germ-O-Ray fixtures assist with upper air irradiation. As a room's air naturally heats and cools, the air rises and falls in a process known as convection. By placing Germ-O-Ray fixtures close to the ceiling and if possible below air vents (but at minimum of 7.0 feet/2.1 meters from the floor), a room's air can be effectively disinfected via convection. These units are ideal for waiting rooms, hallways, and other confined spaces.
Determine How Many Germ-O-Ray Air Disinfection Fixtures Are Needed:
The Chart above provides guidance in determining how many wall mounted fixtures are needed for in-room upper air irradiation given a particular room size. Please note that the total number of fixtures should be halved from these recommendations for rooms occupied by small children or animals due to their heightened sensitivity to UVC light. Wherever possible, white plaster walls and ceilings should be painted to reduce light reflection. Germ-O-Ray air disinfection fixtures should be cleaned periodically to ensure.
Reduction of Lamp Life Through Normal Use
New lamps emit the highest level of ultraviolet light. Due to the normal deterioration of a lamp's germicidal properties, less ultraviolet light energy is output with each successive month of use. The chart at right shows the typical deterioration rate of a new germicidal (Ultraviolet) lamp. After seven months of use, a lamp may have lost more than 30% of its total emission. This "deterioration rate" is standard in all germicidal lamps. That is why it is so important to replace germicidal lamps at least twice a year to maintain maximum effectiveness of your fixtures(s).
Because of a germicidal lamp's limited lifespan, special attention must be paid to the lamp's age. To help with this all Germ-O-Ray Germicidal Lamps are conveniently date-labelled by the year in which the lamps are purchased. If the year label does not match the current year date, then the lamp should be replaced to ensure that the Germ-O-Ray air disinfection fixture is effective. Additionally, each Germ-O-Ray germicidal lamp is labelled with its particular part/size number.
