According to Heraeus Amba Australia , business owners and managers are aware of the lost productivity resulting from ill health that may arise when an infectious disease such as the flu virus spreads through a building. Seasonal cold and flu spread faster through a building with internal air circulation systems (HVAC). In addition, the threat of mould contamination can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms among building occupants, leading to further health issues.
Treating the HVAC system assists in arresting the spread of these infectious viruses. Installing high-output UV-C lamps from Heraeus Amba Australia in the HVAC system can control mould, microbe and virus transmission. Installed in an air-handling system, the UV-C output from Heraeus lamps emits enough energy to penetrate the tiniest microbe to destroy its DNA and RNA, killing or deactivating it.
In a typical building with 4 to 5 air changes per hour, UVC energy can destroy more than 90% of infectious microbes with each air change, reducing them. High-output UV-C lamps work against all strains of influenza and viruses including colds, SARS, measles, and German measles or bacteria such as TB, Legionella, pneumonia, and whooping cough. High-output UV-C lamps are suitable for hospitals that use 15 to 20 air changes per hour and can reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections.
High-output UV-C lamps can protect against surface and airborne moulds. Mould originates deep inside the HVAC system, where the cool, moist conditions aid its growth. Spores rapidly build up and are released through the air stream and into the occupied space. UVC lamps keep components free of mould and organic build-up, eliminating resultant allergic symptoms as well as the time, cost, and potential hazards associated with chemical cleaning programmes.
UVC technology is adaptable to any type of HVAC system, including those with limited space and/or access. The UVC technology is suitable for offices, patient rooms, classrooms, and similar areas served by unit ventilators, fan coils, and other room unit air-handlers. These packaged systems are challenging because most have tight space constraints and can only be equipped with low-efficiency filters that do not capture harmful contaminants.
UVC protection can be added to a packaged room unit as well as to a central air-handling system without modifications to the air-handler itself. The germicidal effect is immediate and continuous. By keeping HVAC components clean, UVC lamps increase system efficiency, reducing energy, operating and maintenance costs.