UV Lights in HVAC systems?

[Rams]

There are applications for installing UV lights within HVAC systems that kill all kinds of bacteria, mold and virus.   But, there are several different options out there.  

I'm hoping to get some feedback and advice on which may be worth considering and those not worth considering.  

During our renovation and rebuilding of our current home, we considered and asked our HVAC installer about the option (almost two years ago now).   He really didn't have much information on them having never installed one.   He did some research and came back with a price that shocked me and we didn't go with his quote.   I'm still looking for an option.   Killing bacteria, mold and virus that are floating around the house seems like a good idea to both my partner in life and myself.  

Thanks in advance.

Rams

[Bret SD]

There are applications for installing UV lights within HVAC systems that kill all kinds of bacteria and virus.   But, there are several different options out there. 

I'm hoping to get some feedback and advice on which may be worth considering and those not worth considering.   

During our renovation and rebuilding of our current home, we considered and ask our HVAC installer about the option.   He really didn't have much information on them having never installed one.   He did some research and came back with a price that shocked me and we didn't go with his quote.   I'm still looking for an option.   Killing bacteria and virus that are floating around the house seems like a good idea to both my partner in life and myself. 

Thanks in advance.

Rams

Ron I'd look for something that's easy to access and clean, those lights you can probably find and rig something for yourself. Why do you want it, for covid? If not, a hepa room air filter would do more good I suspect, I keep one in the bedroom at night for white noise as well as filtration.

[Rams]

There are applications for installing UV lights within HVAC systems that kill all kinds of bacteria and virus.   But, there are several different options out there.  

I'm hoping to get some feedback and advice on which may be worth considering and those not worth considering.  

During our renovation and rebuilding of our current home, we considered and ask our HVAC installer about the option.   He really didn't have much information on them having never installed one.   He did some research and came back with a price that shocked me and we didn't go with his quote.   I'm still looking for an option.   Killing bacteria and virus that are floating around the house seems like a good idea to both my partner in life and myself.  

Thanks in advance.

Rams

Ron I'd look for something that's easy to access and clean, those lights you can probably find and rig something for yourself. Why do you want it, for covid? If not, a hepa room air filter would do more good I suspect, I keep one in the bedroom at night for white noise as well as filtration.

Please note the time frame I said we were initially looking.   Well before COVID was ever a factor.   But, UV lighting is supposedly more effective against all kinds of bacteria, mold and virus.   COVID is simply one additional factor.   I figured someone would jump on that bus.  

Southern Mississippi has a very humid environment, ideal for bacteria, mold and I assume some virus.   I'm allergic to just about everything out there.   Weeds, Molds, Grasses and Dust.   There is no where on this planet I can escape all of those.   If I can reduce active allergens, I'm going to do it.  

I wear a mask when mowing and immediately shower after such activities and have done so for years.   Hopefully, that answers your questions?

Edited:   We already have supposedly the best filters installed in our HVAC system (they ain't cheap) .

Rams

[Wizzard]

I have had some friends with success with these and really like them. You do however need to change the bulb yearly. I would suggest getting one that uses 24V so you can wire it to come on with your blower. Honeywell makes a good one.

[Bret SD]

My girl has allergies too, now that she takes approximately 15 grams a day of vitamin C her allergies rarely show up.. Personally I think she could take up to 20 grams a day and say goodbye to them entirely.

Vitamin C is very powerful against allergies, along with a ton of other benefits. Check out this article from doctoryourself.com.
http://doctoryourself.com/allergies.html

[Rams]

I have had some friends with success with these and really like them. You do however need to change the bulb yearly. I would suggest getting one that uses 24V so you can wire it to come on with your blower. Honeywell makes a good one.

Thanks for the feedback. 
Yes, I'm told to do precisely as you've indicated.   Will look into Honeywell.  There are different types of UV bulbs with different brightness and other variables.   These are the things I don't have enough knowledge of.   Every thing I've read supports what you said.   Since the COVID pandemic, the price of these systems has dramatically increased.   Now they are about the same cost my original HVAC contractor quoted.   He saw an opportunity to make a few extra bucks and tried to squeeze it out of me.   I won't be using his services this time.   Things like that almost always come back to bite the squeezer. 

Rams

[Serk]

Never looked into those for HVAC but I used to run one on my aquarium for the same purposes...

I'm sure the tech has advanced leaps and bounds but one of the challenges in the aquarium setup is that the range from bulb to microbe has to be very low with a decent linger time to be effective, so we'd have tubes of material spiraling the water around the bulb for a close range long linger time, not sure how HVAC handles that.

Also the UV light can deteriorate many normal materials so something else to be aware of.

Probably all red herrings and I'm sure the modern day HVAC folks know what they're doing and have addressed all those issues...

[Wizzard]

breaks down plastic quickly. I do UV testing where i work on different materials. Rubber does not stand a chance

[Rams]

Never looked into those for HVAC but I used to run one on my aquarium for the same purposes...

I'm sure the tech has advanced leaps and bounds but one of the challenges in the aquarium setup is that the range from bulb to microbe has to be very low with a decent linger time to be effective, so we'd have tubes of material spiraling the water around the bulb for a close range long linger time, not sure how HVAC handles that.

Also the UV light can deteriorate many normal materials so something else to be aware of.

Probably all red herrings and I'm sure the modern day HVAC folks know what they're doing and have addressed all those issues...

breaks down plastic quickly. I do UV testing where i work on different materials. Rubber does not stand a chance

Every thing I've read says to mount in the plenum box just after the squirrel cage fan.   I'm not an HVAC guru but, I don't think there's any rubber there.   Seals might be affected, not sure but, the bulb is supposed to come on during the fan's operation.   My understanding is that the bulb gets pretty hot so, it can't be left on for a long duration (without moving air around it).   As I stated previously, I'm not an HVAC expert.

Edited:  Was also advised that the bulb can cause eye damage so, it must be installed so as it can not be seen.   Very similar to me in the shower.  

Rams  

[The emperor has no clothes]

breaks down plastic quickly. I do UV testing where i work on different materials. Rubber does not stand a chance

Living here in AZ, I can attest to this !

[Farside]

Greetings Ron, go to the internet and do a search for the Reme Halo. That is what you need and manufactured in the USA. A Florida company. 

[Robert]

There was already a thread on this so a search might give some more information.

But I made one for my house and it works very well. IF you buy a commercial produced unit they are very expensive but to make one yourself is fairly inexpensive. I put mine in the air intake plenum before the coils and the light hits the inside bottom of the coils and keeps them clean. It also lightly hits the filter and kills anything on the filter. Installing it this way allows me easy service and its not exposing wiring or anything in pertaining to motor, wiring and controls.

What I have noticed, no mold mildew in the ducts, switching from ac to heat produces very little smell since the heating coils stay cleaner. It takes away any odors such as cooking or smoke or just plain stale smell and makes the house smell clean. All in all a good investment and project for protection.

I originally had a small one tube system to try and it made a difference but I wanted to up the wattage and the size of the bulbs and it worked great after I did just that. There are many sites out there that sell the bulbs and ballasts and the fittings so designing your own is pretty easy. When you look at the produced units you begin to realize that they are way overpriced.

Its pretty cool since there is a slight blue glow from the filter housing when the filter is clean. So when there is no light I change the filter so its an automatic monitoring system also.

FYI for airborne viruses UV light changes the DNA or destroys the DNA of the virus so it cannot replicate.

[Bret SD]

There was already a thread on this so a search might give some more information.

But I made one for my house and it works very well. IF you buy a commercial produced unit they are very expensive but to make one yourself is fairly inexpensive. I put mine in the air intake plenum before the coils and the light hits the inside bottom of the coils and keeps them clean. It also lightly hits the filter and kills anything on the filter. Installing it this way allows me easy service and its not exposing wiring or anything in pertaining to motor, wiring and controls.

What I have noticed, no mold mildew in the ducts, switching from ac to heat produces very little smell since the heating coils stay cleaner. It takes away any odors such as cooking or smoke or just plain stale smell and makes the house smell clean. All in all a good investment and project for protection.

I originally had a small one tube system to try and it made a difference but I wanted to up the wattage and the size of the bulbs and it worked great after I did just that. There are many sites out there that sell the bulbs and ballasts and the fittings so designing your own is pretty easy. When you look at the produced units you begin to realize that they are way overpriced.

Its pretty cool since there is a slight blue glow from the filter housing when the filter is clean. So when there is no light I change the filter so its an automatic monitoring system also.

FYI for airborne viruses UV light changes the DNA or destroys the DNA of the virus so it cannot replicate.

That sounds good Robert, for me there's only one problem though. We've been in our new place here for a little under a year and a half. In that time I've only turned the heating and air conditioner on a couple times to test it, otherwise I don't use it. The coldest it gets in the house in winter is 56 or 57 degrees, and we live close enough to the ocean where we don't get super hot temperatures.. At least not very often.

I have an air filter/ionizer for the bedroom which also has a UV light option if you want to turn it on.. Works pretty well but I like the HEPA filter better.

[Robert]

There was already a thread on this so a search might give some more information.

But I made one for my house and it works very well. IF you buy a commercial produced unit they are very expensive but to make one yourself is fairly inexpensive. I put mine in the air intake plenum before the coils and the light hits the inside bottom of the coils and keeps them clean. It also lightly hits the filter and kills anything on the filter. Installing it this way allows me easy service and its not exposing wiring or anything in pertaining to motor, wiring and controls.

What I have noticed, no mold mildew in the ducts, switching from ac to heat produces very little smell since the heating coils stay cleaner. It takes away any odors such as cooking or smoke or just plain stale smell and makes the house smell clean. All in all a good investment and project for protection.

I originally had a small one tube system to try and it made a difference but I wanted to up the wattage and the size of the bulbs and it worked great after I did just that. There are many sites out there that sell the bulbs and ballasts and the fittings so designing your own is pretty easy. When you look at the produced units you begin to realize that they are way overpriced.

Its pretty cool since there is a slight blue glow from the filter housing when the filter is clean. So when there is no light I change the filter so its an automatic monitoring system also.

FYI for airborne viruses UV light changes the DNA or destroys the DNA of the virus so it cannot replicate.

That sounds good Robert, for me there's only one problem though. We've been in our new place here for a little under a year and a half. In that time I've only turned the heating and air conditioner on a couple times to test it, otherwise I don't use it. The coldest it gets in the house in winter is 56 or 57 degrees, and we live close enough to the ocean where we don't get super hot temperatures.. At least not very often.

I have an air filter/ionizer for the bedroom which also has a UV light option if you want to turn it on.. Works pretty well but I like the HEPA filter better.

All right, all right, dont rub it in, LOL

You would probably be ok with a HEPA, but here in Florida the UV is better or in addition to. You could, which I wouldn't think was necessary, is make a box with a fan and mount a UV light inside and put a filter on the air intake. I thought about this as an additional unit in the bedroom as the ones you buy never seem to circulate enough air.

[Jess from VA]

Just rub a little Vick's VapoRub under your nose.  That's what the cadaver people do.

Speaking of odors, I got a small fire going in the oven the other day (no big deal).

But my smoke detector is working great (I think even a deaf person could hear the damn thing).  

The fire was out before the piercing beepy thing got going anyway.      

[Robert]

Just rub a little Vick's VapoRub under your nose.  That's what the cadaver people do.

But my smoke detector is working great (I think even a deaf person could hear the damn thing).  

The fire was out before the piercing beepy thing got going anyway.      

Used to hate Vicks especially when I was a kid and my mother would rub it on my chest.   If that was not bad enough she would have a vaporizer and put some in there also. Maybe thats why I like oil and gas smells.  

[Rams]

There was already a thread on this so a search might give some more information.

But I made one for my house and it works very well. IF you buy a commercial produced unit they are very expensive but to make one yourself is fairly inexpensive. I put mine in the air intake plenum before the coils and the light hits the inside bottom of the coils and keeps them clean. It also lightly hits the filter and kills anything on the filter. Installing it this way allows me easy service and its not exposing wiring or anything in pertaining to motor, wiring and controls.

What I have noticed, no mold mildew in the ducts, switching from ac to heat produces very little smell since the heating coils stay cleaner. It takes away any odors such as cooking or smoke or just plain stale smell and makes the house smell clean. All in all a good investment and project for protection.

I originally had a small one tube system to try and it made a difference but I wanted to up the wattage and the size of the bulbs and it worked great after I did just that. There are many sites out there that sell the bulbs and ballasts and the fittings so designing your own is pretty easy. When you look at the produced units you begin to realize that they are way overpriced.

Its pretty cool since there is a slight blue glow from the filter housing when the filter is clean. So when there is no light I change the filter so its an automatic monitoring system also.

FYI for airborne viruses UV light changes the DNA or destroys the DNA of the virus so it cannot replicate.

Good information, thanks.

BTW, when's the next time you're coming to Hattiesburg? 

Rams

[Robert]

There was already a thread on this so a search might give some more information.

But I made one for my house and it works very well. IF you buy a commercial produced unit they are very expensive but to make one yourself is fairly inexpensive. I put mine in the air intake plenum before the coils and the light hits the inside bottom of the coils and keeps them clean. It also lightly hits the filter and kills anything on the filter. Installing it this way allows me easy service and its not exposing wiring or anything in pertaining to motor, wiring and controls.

What I have noticed, no mold mildew in the ducts, switching from ac to heat produces very little smell since the heating coils stay cleaner. It takes away any odors such as cooking or smoke or just plain stale smell and makes the house smell clean. All in all a good investment and project for protection.

I originally had a small one tube system to try and it made a difference but I wanted to up the wattage and the size of the bulbs and it worked great after I did just that. There are many sites out there that sell the bulbs and ballasts and the fittings so designing your own is pretty easy. When you look at the produced units you begin to realize that they are way overpriced.

Its pretty cool since there is a slight blue glow from the filter housing when the filter is clean. So when there is no light I change the filter so its an automatic monitoring system also.

FYI for airborne viruses UV light changes the DNA or destroys the DNA of the virus so it cannot replicate.

Good information, thanks.

BTW, when's the next time you're coming to Hattiesburg? 

Rams

Been up to Tallahassee a few times lately,  and maybe when this Covid thing dies down a bit I can make the jump over. I would like to be able to shake hands, not have a mask on. 

She has been watching Home Town TV show and wanted to take a look at the town. I have not really been taking trips and just exploring, you know the kind you can just roam, kind of like DDT's type of roam.  So I am feeling a little caged in if you know what I mean. May take a few days and make an adventure of it.

Not a problem, buuuuuttttttt probably wont able to take the bike since the wife rides with me and she likes her comfort.

The more I look at Tallahassee the better it looks, its centrally located to a most of the lower part of the country and a pretty area. Maybe thinking of moving there since S Fla is getting a bit crowded. Great exploring the winding and twisting roads and so close to GA that and even not a far ride from the Carolina's.

[Rams]

Been up to Tallahassee a few times lately,  and maybe when this Covid thing dies down a bit I can make the jump over. I would like to be able to shake hands, not have a mask on. 

She has been watching Home Town TV show and wanted to take a look at the town. I have not really been taking trips and just exploring, you know the kind you can just roam, kind of like DDT's type of roam.  So I am feeling a little caged in if you know what I mean. May take a few days and make an adventure of it.

Not a problem, buuuuuttttttt probably wont able to take the bike since the wife rides with me and she likes her comfort.

The more I look at Tallahassee the better it looks, its centrally located to a most of the lower part of the country and a pretty area. Maybe thinking of moving there since S Fla is getting a bit crowded. Great exploring the winding and twisting roads and so close to GA that and even not a far ride from the Carolina's.

Tallahassee is still about 360 miles away from Hattiesburg, would make a decent day trip.   

Rams

[Robert]

Been up to Tallahassee a few times lately,  and maybe when this Covid thing dies down a bit I can make the jump over. I would like to be able to shake hands, not have a mask on. 

She has been watching Home Town TV show and wanted to take a look at the town. I have not really been taking trips and just exploring, you know the kind you can just roam, kind of like DDT's type of roam.  So I am feeling a little caged in if you know what I mean. May take a few days and make an adventure of it.

Not a problem, buuuuuttttttt probably wont able to take the bike since the wife rides with me and she likes her comfort.

The more I look at Tallahassee the better it looks, its centrally located to a most of the lower part of the country and a pretty area. Maybe thinking of moving there since S Fla is getting a bit crowded. Great exploring the winding and twisting roads and so close to GA that and even not a far ride from the Carolina's.

Tallahassee is still about 360 miles away from Hattiesburg, would make a decent day trip.   

Rams

Exactly, Atlanta, Tennessee, Georgia, Carolinas, Texas would all make some good trips with a base in Tallahassee. I have been to all those states already but to spend some time there and explore a bit would be great. I also do miss the season change and just the cooler air at night.

[Chrisj CMA]

We love our Reme Halo. The replaceable element us just now available. After C19 hit they were selling these like candy as covid killers. It’s more than just UV. Read up on Reme Halo

PS. If you don’t need heat or air run the air handler on “fan” an hour or so a day.  Works just as good

[Rams]

We love our Reme Halo. The replaceable element us just now available. After C19 hit they were selling these like candy as covid killers. It’s more than just UV. Read up on Reme Halo

PS. If you don’t need heat or air run the air handler on “fan” an hour or so a day.  Works just as good

Thanks, I'll look into it.   

Rams

[Patrick]

There was some discussion about this around a year ago. Robert knew quite a bit about the subject and if I remember he made up his own.
I ran with it and installed a normal light socket in our return air box. The local box stores didn't have any bulbs I liked with a normal screw in base so I ordered some from eBay. They also had ready made units available.
UV is supposed to deteriorate the flex lines/hoses in some AC systems which concerned me, but, I plan on putting in a new unit next winter so I'll look at them then.

[Tundra]

We love our Reme Halo. The replaceable element us just now available. After C19 hit they were selling these like candy as covid killers. It’s more than just UV. Read up on Reme Halo

PS. If you don’t need heat or air run the air handler on “fan” an hour or so a day.  Works just as good

Reme Halo   We did this just before Covid (when it was cheap) guessing possibly mold was responsible for our allergies.

[Bret SD]

There was already a thread on this so a search might give some more information.

But I made one for my house and it works very well. IF you buy a commercial produced unit they are very expensive but to make one yourself is fairly inexpensive. I put mine in the air intake plenum before the coils and the light hits the inside bottom of the coils and keeps them clean. It also lightly hits the filter and kills anything on the filter. Installing it this way allows me easy service and its not exposing wiring or anything in pertaining to motor, wiring and controls.

What I have noticed, no mold mildew in the ducts, switching from ac to heat produces very little smell since the heating coils stay cleaner. It takes away any odors such as cooking or smoke or just plain stale smell and makes the house smell clean. All in all a good investment and project for protection.

I originally had a small one tube system to try and it made a difference but I wanted to up the wattage and the size of the bulbs and it worked great after I did just that. There are many sites out there that sell the bulbs and ballasts and the fittings so designing your own is pretty easy. When you look at the produced units you begin to realize that they are way overpriced.

Its pretty cool since there is a slight blue glow from the filter housing when the filter is clean. So when there is no light I change the filter so its an automatic monitoring system also.

FYI for airborne viruses UV light changes the DNA or destroys the DNA of the virus so it cannot replicate.

That sounds good Robert, for me there's only one problem though. We've been in our new place here for a little under a year and a half. In that time I've only turned the heating and air conditioner on a couple times to test it, otherwise I don't use it. The coldest it gets in the house in winter is 56 or 57 degrees, and we live close enough to the ocean where we don't get super hot temperatures.. At least not very often.

I have an air filter/ionizer for the bedroom which also has a UV light option if you want to turn it on.. Works pretty well but I like the HEPA filter better.

All right, all right, dont rub it in, LOL

You would probably be ok with a HEPA, but here in Florida the UV is better or in addition to. You could, which I wouldn't think was necessary, is make a box with a fan and mount a UV light inside and put a filter on the air intake. I thought about this as an additional unit in the bedroom as the ones you buy never seem to circulate enough air.

Yep, living in commieland does have some perks

After looking at the HEPA unit I vacuumed the filter and noticed it does have a UV light, it's a very nice filter for bedroom use