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The U.S. Standard for Government Buildings requires that "Ultraviolet light (C band)
emitters/lamps shall be incorporated downstream of all cooling coils and above all drain pans to
control airborne and surface microbial growth and transfer. Applied fixtures/lamps must be
specifically manufactured for this purpose." The Air Probe Sanitizer meets these requirements,
are specifically manufactured for this purpose, and are installed in government
buildings.
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- The Mounting Location
in your air conditioner system.
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 The UVC purification lights
MUST be mounted next to the evaporator (cooling)
coil, AND on the downstream (cold air side) of the coil. The UV rays
must shine both on the air conditioner cooling coil and on the water drain pan underneath
the coil (if installed), because this is the main area where mold spores grow.
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The Air Probe Sanitizer in the photo above is
indeed mounted in a duct, but it is illuminating
the cold side of the A-coil and water drain pan
underneath it.
(Click the photo for a different view).
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If the UV-C lamps are mounted elsewhere, then slime, algae, bacteria, and mold
can grow on the cooling coil, drain
pan, and even the blower and ductwork. As a consequence, these organisms will contaminate the air
that you're breathing, throughout your living
space.
Hydroxyl ions generated by the UVC rays —having a
negative electrical charge— cannot pass through the fins on the AC coil.
Instead, they would be attracted to the grounded
coil fins instead of passing into the ducts and into your room where they
are needed.
Furthermore, this slime, algae, mold, and bacterial growth can eventually plug up your
air conditioning coil so air can't flow through it freely. This
increases cooling costs and can even shorten the life of your central air conditioner. Your
AC coil will NEVER plug up with a properly installed and maintained Air Probe Sanitizer equipped
system. The cooling coil will always look as shiny and new as it did when it came out of the factory.
- The UV-C rays shining on the water droplets (the water condensing on the
A-coil) increases the output of
helpful hydroxyl ions (OH-, a naturally-occurring air
purifying compound that scrubs pollution from the earth's atmosphere) and other compounds that destroy organic material such as mold, dust, germs,
and pollen.
An ordinary "in-duct" system can do neither.
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- It must kill bacteria, viruses, mold, and mildew.
Everywhere: in the air handler, ducts, and the rooms.
Pandemics
- It must freshen the air and destroy odors
Even strong
chemical odors, for people with multiple chemical sensitivities (multiple chemical intolerance, MCS
or MCI).*
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The Ultraviolet Lamp UV-C output power
The ultraviolet
rays from the uv lamps must be powerful enough to eliminate odors and freshen the air, as well as kill
germs, viruses, bacteria, mold, and mildew.
Compare the Air
Probe Sanitizer™ to others.
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The UV-C wavelength specification
All ultraviolet-C "light" is
not the same. "UV-C" takes in a very broad spectrum of
wavelengths. And most wavelengths in the ultraviolet-c spectrum do nothing to
either purify the air or kill germs. Still other wavelengths
produce ozone. Only an extremely narrow band in the UV-C spectrum is actually useful to
purify the air and kill
viruses, bacteria, etc. The Air Probe Sanitizer's lamps are unequalled.
Click here to see for yourself that all UV-C lamps are not created equal.
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It should not produce ANY ozone
While ozone in some
air purification applications is not always a bad thing, you do not want ozone-producing UV
in your ducts because:
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Ozone from a UV light cannot be adjusted or turned on and off. Once the air
pollution and odors are destroyed, you will smell ozone.
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Ozone in the presence of germicidal UV-C rays would corrode your air
conditioner's cooling system, and even separate the
aluminum fins from the copper lines in the air conditioner cooling coil.
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Much of the ozone is destroyed by the UV-C rays anyway.
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Besides, you don't need ozone to purify the air! The combination of
UV-C, the purifying hydroxyls and negative ions can do the job.
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Hydroxyls and negative ions...
... Must be produced by the UV-C
air purification system and must come out vents and registers. This is very important to
purify the air and help keep
dust, allergens, and pathogens (disease-causing organisms) out of the air. Negative hydroxyl
ions are the key to actually
destroying dust, pollen, mold spores, VOC's, drug- and antibiotic-resistant
pathogens, and other organic compounds in
polluted air.
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It MUST keep the air
ducts AND the
AC cooling coil clean!
The Air Probe Sanitizer does just that. (Please see #1 above.).
The duct-cleaning people hate these
things!
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Ease and cost of installation
If installation of the UV-C air purifier is
difficult, then installation will be expensive (or just not done correctly). The
Air Probe Sanitizer's different designs accommodate any air handler design you
might run into.
- There are a number of clear advantages in this regards of the Air Probe Sanitizer.
For one thing, there are many, many different makes, models, sizes, and designs of air handlers
(HVAC systems), and as a consequence, we often we have to make a custom-length Air Probe Sanitizer
(or a special lamp spacing) to fit a particular air handler. And not only is there usually no extra
charge should a custom length, lamp spacing, or mounting configuration is required, but many custom
Air Probe Sanitizer lengths and different designs are stocked.
- BEWARE. Inferior, similar-looking "in-duct" UV-C
air purifying products have another major drawback:
fixed sizes and designs with little flexibility. The main problem is that other dual-lamp model (which
are required on almost
all residences without exception) have a fixed lamp spacing. They just plain won't properly fit some
air handlers, no matter what. And so they just don't do the job of purifying
the air and killing mold. And the only way you can make their unit work on some air handlers is to chop some
holes in the sheet metal. Some homeowners don't like that, because it voids the warranty on their
air handler.
- Furthermore, on top of the fixed-lamp-spacing limitation, there's also only one
mounting design, either for single-lamp or dual-lamp models.
- You just don't stick one in a duct somewhere, or blindly mount it "on top" of
the evaporator coil. If the lamps aren't mounted on the COLD AIR SIDE of the evaporator coil, and
close to the coil so as to fully illuminate it, then the job is not done right. The flexibility of
the different Air Probe Sanitizer designs and lamp spacings ensures a job done right, and a happy
customer, every time.
- The bottom line here is this: Flexible installation translates to quick
installation, which in turn means the lowest possible installation costs.
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Lamps supported at one end only
This not only makes for easy installation and replacement, but doubles the
effective length (and UV output) of
the air purifying UV lamps.
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Long lamp life -
Three years or more
Many
ultraviolet germicidal/air purification lamps quickly drop in output power, loosing their effectiveness
at purifying the air. These lamps' all-important UV-C
output decreases less than 15% after a year (8760 hours) of continuous operation.
On the average, these ultraviolet lamps can still emit 85% after
1 year, 73% after two years, and over 60% after three years.
Lamp life chart
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Number of UV lamps (two lamps in one)
The dual-probe
UV air purifier system effectively give you four lamps, since each lamp is really two lamps in one,
side by side (supported at
only one end). You have to have enough lamps to provide enough UV-C light energy to
purify the air and kill mold, etc.
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Easy UV Lamp Replacement
No UV lamp lasts forever. When it wears out, it needs to be easy to change. The lamps on the Air
Probe Sanitizer just rock out of the sockets. Please
see the video to see how easy it is.
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Ruggedly built
Both the
ultraviolet-C lamps and the aluminum frame of the Air Probe Sanitizer air
purification system are rigid and solid. The lamps are as highly resistant to
breakage as possible.
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Coverage area
Dual-probe units purify and clean the air in even large houses. Multiple probe units can be built
for any application, whether a home or a skyscraper.
The smaller one-probe "motel room" units can even
purify the air in a small townhouse apartment.
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Customizable at no extra cost
Need a special length? Usually, there's no extra charge. The cost is based on the number of lamps,
not the overall length of the unit. (standard length is 17+")
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Warranty and guarantee
Five years on the unit and two years on the UV lamps
Details
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A stable company
We've been around since 1989, and we plan to be around later when you need replacement parts, service, or
an air purifier for your next house.
About Comtech Research
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Much more information and further explanations are on the Air Probe Sanitizer page.
*In some cases, more than two 8" lamps are required to effectively remove odors or
smoke from the air. If you are purchasing the Air Probe Sanitizer to remove odors, just indicate so when
ordering.
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"Air Probe Sanitizer" is a
trademark. |
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