Benefits of UV Lights for Your Air Conditioner
While the past year and a half has brought many new lessons, we’ve all become more knowledgeable about home sanitation and indoor air quality. More than ever before, we’ve wondered about how the quality of our home’s air impacts our overall health and how air quality is related to issues of circulation and ventilation.
With this added attention to health and safety in our homes and workspaces, many people have equipped their air conditioners with ultraviolet (UV) lights to reduce mold, bacteria, viruses, and other harmful particles that enter the air.
To determine if a UV light might be worth adding to your air conditioner, let’s take some time to talk about airborne pollutants and UV light technologies.
Why Is Indoor Air Quality Important?
Indoor air is often polluted by mold, toxins, allergens, chemicals, bacteria/viruses, and other particles that can contribute to a host of health conditions, ranging from asthma to nausea to fatigue, to name just a few.
Low-quality indoor air is generally made worse by poor ventilation, something that HVAC specialists can rectify using filters, purifiers, and other air quality control technologies.
The EPA states that one of the best ways to improve the air quality in your home is to increase the amount of outdoor air that comes in and keep air circulating. Air conditioners do this by circulating the stationary air in your home.
During the cooling process, air passes through a filter that removes dust, dander, and allergens before the air enters your home. Clean air flows through the cooling coils and passes through a grill to remove any remaining unwanted particles. Sounds good, right? Clean air for you and your family to breathe.
The catch is that after years of use, evaporator coils tend to build up dust, residue, mold, and other toxins. While it’s important to get your air vents cleaned for this reason, it’s also recommended that you clean the coils. Even after doing this, unfortunately, not all toxic elements get filtered out of your air.
Even when using a high-efficiency HEPA filter, particles less than 0.3 microns can still pass through. Viruses and bacteria are generally between 0.2 and 2.0 um and are likely not getting filtered out, and neither is mold.
This is where UV lights come in.
What Are UV Lights and How Do They Work?
UV light exists outside the physical spectrum of light and can only give off light when reflecting off other colored surfaces (think of a black light in a nightclub that makes people’s clothes glow).
Many people have negative associations with UV light, as its radiation is harmful to humans and can damage skin. However, UV light is also damaging to mold, viruses, and bacteria. When these pathogens pass through the UV light, they dissolve and turn into moisture. This means better air quality for your home and family.
In most residential homes, the UV light bulb will be placed within the evaporator coils of the air conditioning unit. This is the area where the bacteria tends to build up before passing through your air ducts.
This placement of the UV light poses no danger to you or your skin. It will kill bacteria, mold, viruses, and pathogens, and no remnant of UV light will ever enter your home.
Does UV Light Really Work?
UV irradiation has been used by hospitals and restaurants for years to help disinfect and prevent the spread of germs.
Scientific studies show that UV light is effective in killing both influenza (flu) and coronaviruses.
Studies also confirm that UV light effectively kills mold.
Other Benefits of UV Light?
While improving your air quality, UV lights also keep your evaporator coils clean. When these coils get clogged with dust, mold, and dirt, your air conditioner will not perform as well as it should. This means that energy efficiency will be lower, and your electric bills will be higher.
Also, keep in mind that when your air conditioner uses less energy, not only does it save you money, it helps the environment as well.
Similarly, when you install a UV light, you won’t have to clean your evaporator coils with harsh chemicals, such as diethylene glycol monoethyl ether and 2-butoxyethanol. Avoiding these chemicals is good for you, your family, and the environment.
How Much Does Installing a UV Light Cost?
UV lights range from $70 to $500 online. If you’re handy, these can easily be installed. However, if you’re unfamiliar with cooling systems, hire an HVAC expert.
You don’t want to install a UV light incorrectly or damage your air conditioner. If you choose to hire someone, make sure they have experience with UV light installation procedures.
A UV light will generally make your system run more efficiently and improve the air quality in your home. While everyone can benefit from the long-term impact of cleaner air, people with seasonal allergies, compromised immunity, or general poor health will especially benefit from the installation of a UV light.
If you would like to discuss equipping your air conditioner with a UV light, and are located in the Twin Cities Metro Area, we here at Quality Systems Heating and Cooling would love to talk you through your options.
Contact us today for a free quote. We bring three generations of experience to our HVAC business and are leaders in the installation of UV lights and other air quality technologies.
Financing options are available, and we guarantee kind and responsive customer service and expert workmanship!