Ultraviolet light has been used as a disinfection method for many years now. They have been proven to be very effective in killing germs and viruses, and as stated in our last blog post, Ultraviolet-C or UVC can kill Coronavirus and be used in the fight against COVID-19.
There are many ways UVC is used to accomplish this job, from UVC air sterilizers to UVC lamps that use direct light to kill the virus. And when it comes to UVC lamps, there are many kinds of UVC bulbs used, with one of the more popular ones these days being the UVC LED light.
But how effective is it, and how does it compare to the more traditional and more proven UVC bulbs?
Let’s look at the wavelengths
According to a report published by the Illuminating Engineering Society committee, in order for a UVC sterilization system to work, the UVC light in question should be at around 254nm, which is the common wavelength used by most commercial UVC lamps. This is close to the peak of the DNA absorption curve, but poses lower risks in the event of direct exposure. UV mercury lamps and other high-pressure and low-pressure lamp variants can achieve this wavelength number, and even be tailor fit to be at a specific range depending on the need.
Where do LEDs come into play?
Materials doctoral researcher Chrsitian Zolliner, a leading expert in advancing deep ultraviolet light LED technology for sanitation and purification, stated in a report on the effectiveness of Ultraviolet LEDs in eliminating coronavirus, “many technological advances are needed for the UV LED to reach its potential in terms of efficiency, cost, reliability, and lifetime.”
Indeed, at this point while the promise of LEDs being used as a chemical-free alternative to more traditional mercury lamps, it is just not there yet and research is still on-going to develop more effective UVC LEDs.
And this poses a very crucial problem that needs to be addressed.
A shocking revelation
We just have to say it: Most “UV” LED lamps being marketed today, especially the cheap and affordable ones, don’t actually work!
Now, let us clarify this statement a little bit. UVC Light lamps are available, and many of them work, especially those that use the traditional bulbs. There are even some UVC LED systems that do work, and they emit near 254nm wavelength.
However, there are ones that claim to use “UVC” LEDs, and they more often than not are simply ineffective.
There was a study done by Lee Teschler of PowerElectronicTips.com on the effectiveness of UVC LED light products available in the market today, and the results are shocking. You can learn more about their experiment in the link, but in a nutshell, they bought two germicidal lights: one using the more traditional UVC bulbs, and the other using a “UVC” LED.
They used a special light meter able to detect whether or not a light source actually emits UVC light. The one that used the traditional UVC bulbs performed as advertised, but the one using “UVC” LED lamps, did not. Not even close! Their experiments revealed that the LED light source pretty much produces a zero when it comes to wavelengths.
A false sense of security
Many of these products are marketed as “effective” by unscrupulous entities to prey on the fears of people especially during this pandemic. With “LED” being a trendy, tech term these days, people fall for these products, especially if they are cheap and affordable, because they want to increase their chances against contracting COVID-19.
But all these do is give a false sense of security, and most likely might even increase the chances of infection instead, because people with these ineffective products might lower their guard expecting that their LED lamp already did its job.
Proper research and stick to what’s proven
Remember that despite the risks and the more meticulous steps needed to use direct UVC light for sterilization, proven and effective UVC Lamps can be used by households and businesses to reduce and even eliminate the threat of coronavirus and COVID-19. Just do proper research, stick to what’s already proven to be effective, and remember that if a product is too cheap and too good to be true, it probably is.
For more information on the use of UVC for sterilization and a risk-free alternative to using direct UVC light to fight against coronavirus, contact us for more info and we’ll be more than happy to help!