Zogics Blog | Experts in All Things Facility

Product Resources: Introducing Zogics NSpire HVAC UV-C Air Purifiers

Written by Zogics | December 1, 2020

Many of us are spending more time indoors as the weather declines and the days get shorter. With more time spent inside, there's a new focus on a key area emerging in the fight against the Coronavirus: the quality of the indoor air in your facility.

Per the EPA, "COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person. However, some uncertainty remains about the relative importance of different routes of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Evidence now confirms that this virus can remain airborne for longer times and further distances than originally thought. In addition to close contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces, spread of COVID-19 may also occur via airborne particles in indoor environments, in some circumstances beyond the 2 m (about 6 ft.) range encouraged by some social distancing recommendations."

What does this mean for your facility? It means that creating and maintaining optimal air quality should be one of the tools in your infection prevention line of defense. 

To assist in your efforts to improve indoor air in your facility or home, we recently introduced the Zogics NSpire line of air purifiers, air filters, and air quality monitors. Here, we'll focus specifically on HVAC air purifiers.

What Does an Air Purifier Do?

An air purifier removes contaminants from the air such as dust, particles, allergens, viruses and bacteria, creating cleaner, healthier air for you to breathe. They also provide you with an additional layer of protection against emerging pathogens. They are installed in your home or facilities' HVAC system.

How Does an Air Purifier Work?

Air purifiers utilize UV-C lights to kill harmful bacteria and viruses in the air.. When air passes through the purifier, the photocatalyst within the photocatalytic reactor is activated under UV radiation. The UV light leads to an oxidation decomposition reaction, decomposing oxygen and water in the air into superoxide ions O2- and hydroxyl radical ·HO, which decompose organic compounds in the air and destroy cell membranes of any bacteria and viruses, causing them to die. When the UV light activates the photocatalyst, it also directly irradiates air to double the bactericidal efficacy.

Simply put, UV-C lights transform the harmful chemicals, bacteria, viruses and pollutants in the air and effectively destroy them.

 

Can UV Light Kill COVID-19?

While not officially proven to eliminate the coronavirus, according to the CDC, “Vaporous hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, and moist heat are the most promising decontamination methods” for COVID-19. When used with a combination of other best practices recommended by CDC and others (social distancing, proper hand hygiene, masking, etc.), air purifiers can be part of a plan to reduce the potential for airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors.