Lamp: Will it burn my house down and kill me?

[Madsalts]

I'm looking at this UV sterilizing lamp (link at end of post). The bulbs will be contained within a metal duct, but the ballast will be outside of it. I can't find any manufacturer information regarding it. Is it a realistic worry that this might catch fire and burn my house down? Similar products, by honeywell (for example) sell for about $120. I'm wondering if this is a bad sign. Thanks.

Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Air-Purifie...329241?hash=item33bcb54859:g:1SMAAOSwP~tW2E9g

 

[davenn]

Is it a realistic worry that this might catch fire and burn my house down?

only if wired incorrectly

you major worry should be the dangers of UV radiation and the damage it WILL do to skin and particularly eyes
I would suggest that you shouldn't even consider this for a home installation


Dave

 

[hevans1944]

It's designed to fit inside ductwork, so no danger of exposure to germicidal UV wavelengths. The ballast is electronic, so it should run cool. I am considering adding one of these to my HVAC system in Florida. Price is definitely right, but are replacement UV lamps easily available?

Unshielded germicidal UV lamps were popular for use in bathroom light fixtures early in the 20th Century, until folks discovered just how harmful (especially to eye corneas) direct exposure to these short-wave UV emissions really is. These two lamps, installed in ductwork and not visible to the homeowner should be safe enough. Just don't pull them out and look at them when they are operating.

If worried about a fire hazard, consult a qualified electrician, If they aren't UL certified, I would avoid them. CE certification means absolutely NOTHING.

 

[(*steve*)]

CE certification means absolutely NOTHING

Are you referring to the "China Export" marking?

 

[hevans1944]

Are you referring to the "China Export" marking?

Ha ha! Caveat Emptor.

 

[Externet]

Wanted to apply the same treatment for ducts in my house... A friend was nearly killed by the contamination in his Miami house.

The pictured/linked product should be effective; but in my opinion, only to the area it illuminates. The rest of ducts length should be able to harbor plenty of undesirable microorganisms.
It may 'purify' some air flowing, but does it kill the existing germs anchored in the ducts ? Only setting the whole house on fire is surer.
Replacing the entire ducting with new one$ is I believe, unreliable, as the hands/tools/gloves of the working crew will spread the germs from the removed duct to the new. and perhaps bring other types of germs from previous worked sites.

Found out a while ago, that ultraviolet LED should perform similarly well; can be run inside the whole length of ducts as a 'christmas' light string. May not involve voltage hazards, temperature, act nearly everywhere in the ducts, easy install, looong 'lamp' life, for 24/7.
Difference in germicidal wavelength from UV sources (LED, fluorescent, incandescent) attacks one type of microorganism better than another. But getting into analyzing which spore/mold in your home is more susceptible than the other to decide the wavelength could be complex.

The difference in price to Honeywell may have something to do with their CEOs yatchs and golfing schedules that the chinese workers do not have.

Please continue updating actions and rationale about this subject.

 

[Madsalts]

As for replacement bulbs, they are available, but cost about as much as the original unit that I linked to. Other bulbs are half the price. As for LED UV arrays, these will not work. "UV light" is a term applied to a range of wavelengths, the longer of which do not have germicidal activity. Unfortunately, LED UV lighting does not produce light of sufficiently short wavelength. There is a good explanation of all this in the wikipedia entry "Ultraviolet".

As for cleaning a massively infected duct, the light will disinfect the surfaces that are within its range, as well as the air (to some degree) that passes by it. Frankly, I don't know how effective these are at cleaning passing air. There are many factors involved (e.g., velocity of air, distance from bulb, etc.). However, my gut feeling is that they work well for passing air, based upon reviews that I have read. For duct areas outside of the immediate vicinity of the lamp, perhaps an HVAC technician can flood the duct with some sort of airborne chemical that will kill the microbes. I don't know. There are dehumidifiers that can be added in-line in ducts. These are expensive. There might be better DIY dehumidifier alternatives.

 

[Externet]

With a safer 12V DC supply, a bunch of these 254nm would be needed for exposing all ducts :

----> http://www.ebay.com/itm/UV-C-254nm-...912722?hash=item51dc82d512:g:5akAAOxydINSaUSW

The chinese will claim 400nm as also germicidal, but who knows to which certain type of germs. Assembling a string of these as back to back pairs ( counterparalleled ? on 2VAC ) for isotropic emission would be reasonable in price. Powerful enough, one pair every 0.5m? and if driven under its limits, should last a lifetime. As affordable UVC leds have not been invented yet, that would be my choice to do it. :

----> https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1w-..._1&btsid=7cfc7011-ad0a-451f-85a7-93c906170f7b

Some info:

----> http://ultraviolet.com/what-is-germicidal-ultraviolet/

What I consider truly important is to not disinfect air, but the ducts ! What big corporations CEOs will push for, is the opposite to sell their product.
Analyzing treated air flow can yield great test results, but the culturing crap is still in the ducts, to constantly poison occupants in the future.

----> http://www.lennox.com/products/indoor-air-quality/air-purification/uv

----> http://www.uvsolutionsforhome.com/products.cfml

Chemical -gaseous-spraying-germicidal 'bombs' in ducts should be also an effective method if do not pose more harm in offices/residences.

 

[Chemelec]

These Bulbs also Create Ozone.
No problem if you just use them Occasionally, But it is Not good to get too much Ozone.

 

[hevans1944]

I didn't mention the ozone producing effect because not very much is produced, and it is diluted by the air flowing past the lamps. It is a big concern if you have any equipment with rubber parts exposed to air with ozone in it. Ozone will attack those parts and render them useless. Don't ask me how I know this. In my area of the world ozone took several years to destroy a VHS tape deck, for which no replacement parts were readily available. Good thing I had moved on to DVD (and, later, Blu-Ray) by the time that happened. My "professional" belt-driven turntable is probably ruined by now, but I haven't spun up a vinyl disk in thirty years. Was gonna rip my collection of vinyl albums to hard disk, but most of the stuff I like is now available for streaming and/or download on the Internet. I still hang on to that turntable though... <sigh>