In healthcare facilities, maintaining cleanliness and reducing the spread of infections involves more than just surface cleaning; it extends into ensuring the air within the facility is free from harmful pathogens. While areas like Operating Rooms (ORs) and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) usually receive the most attention regarding air quality, there’s a critical need to implement UVC disinfection across all air handlers, especially in non-critical care areas. This method is key not just for keeping environments sterile but also for achieving significant energy and maintenance cost reductions by preventing mold growth on HVAC coils.

UVC Disinfection: A Closer Look

UVC light is known for its ability to neutralize a wide range of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and molds. Its use in HVAC systems targets both the coils and the air passing through them, preventing the accumulation of mold and biofilm. These accumulations can lead to decreased system efficiency, increased energy use, and higher operating costs. Moreover, they pose a risk of releasing mold spores into the facility’s air. According to many studies and referenced in ASHRAE’s handbook, by incorporating UVC disinfection, healthcare facilities can save an estimated 5-15% on HVAC energy costs, reduce maintenance expenses, and eliminate the need for chemical cleaning methods.

Bridging the Gap: Focusing on Energy and Maintenance Savings

The focus on installing UVC lighting has traditionally been more on ORs and ICUs, given the critical need to maintain sterile environments in these areas. These spaces are often equipped with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, which help to purify the air further.

However, this leaves a gap in air quality management across the rest of the healthcare facility. Non-critical care areas such as patient care units, pharmacies, and emergency departments typically rely on Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 8 or possibly MERV 13 filters. While these filters do provide a level of air filtration, they fall short of the disinfection power needed to effectively control the spread of airborne microbes.

Adding UVC disinfection to all air handling units, especially in non-critical areas, is about more than ensuring consistent air quality; it’s about taking advantage of the energy and maintenance savings that come with preventing mold growth on HVAC coils. Mold on these coils can break off and be circulated through the air, affecting the entire facility and reducing HVAC system efficiency. By stopping mold growth at its source with UVC light, healthcare facilities can prevent its spread, ensuring cleaner air and reducing the workload on HVAC systems. This not only cuts energy costs but also extends the life of the equipment.

A Unified Approach to Air Quality

Adopting UVC disinfection throughout healthcare facilities offers a holistic strategy for managing air quality. This approach ensures the highest level of cleanliness across both critical and non-critical areas and demonstrates the facility’s commitment to both health safety and operational efficiency. By preventing mold growth and ensuring the circulation of high-quality air, healthcare facilities can markedly improve the safety of patients, visitors, and staff while achieving significant cost savings.

In summary, extending UVC disinfection to include all air handlers, especially in non-critical care areas, is essential. This not only underscores a commitment to comprehensive care and safety but also highlights an efficient use of resources, marking a progressive step in healthcare environmental management.

In a world where pandemics and other health threats are always a possibility, it’s more important than ever to have reliable air and surface disinfection solutions in place. PURO Protect 222 is the latest product from PURO Lighting, and it uses Far UV-C technology to provide continuous disinfection of both the air and surfaces in occupied spaces. We sat down with Brian Stern, CEO of PURO Lighting, to find out more about this new technology. 

The Far UV-C Difference 

PURO Protect 222 disinfects high traffic and high contact areas in inhabited environments safely using proprietary, filtered 222 nanometer Far UV-C light technology. “While we use a variety of different types of technology in each of our product lines, we see Far UV-C as a real game-changer in disinfection,” says Stern. 

“For one, it’s designed to be used safely while people are occupying many kinds of spaces like bathrooms, waiting rooms, medical procedure areas, and much more. Second, Far UV-C units, as PURO has created them, are perfect for high-traffic, high-touch areas that were never easy to disinfect while people were present before, such as in classrooms, gymnasiums, factories, and more. Finally, it’s a set it and forget it scenario because it works autonomously. It’s just there, inactivating viruses and eradicating germs in the air and on surfaces.” 

PURO Protect 222 products have been proved to inactivate dangerous viruses and germs, including today’s SARS- CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. They are designed for autonomous, continuous disinfection of both air and surfaces. 

The unit emits UV-C light at a wavelength of 222 nanometers, which is effective at inactivating bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. This UV-C light penetrates the cell walls of these microbes and disrupts their DNA, rendering them unable to reproduce or cause infection. 

“The ability to safely disinfect occupied spaces is the gold standard in the UV world and Far UV-C technology allows us to continue our mission to safely disinfect any space where people gather,” Stern adds. 

Nothing Left To Chance 

Far UV-C technology has been demonstrated safe for use in populated places and effective against a broad variety of bacterial, viral, and fungal infections by Columbia University and other research organizations. Continuous operation of Protect 222 in accordance with written instructions fulfills the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) 2021 exposure criteria for inhabited space as defined by the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC). 

But PURO has taken this a step further and has had PURO Protect 222 tested and certified by Underwriters Laboratories. “It’s one of the things that make us different in the marketplace,” says Stern. “Our use of proven and patented filtered 222 nm light technology makes the PURO Protect 222 safe for use wherever people are present, and earning that certification from Underwriters Laboratories provides independent corroboration that we operate at the highest level of safety.” 

Powered by Ushio’s patented CARE222® filtered Far UV-C technology and Acuity Brands Lighting’s patent-pending dosage controllers and other technology, PURO Protect 222 employs a short pass filter to remove UV wavelengths that can penetrate living tissue in skin or beyond the tear layer of the eyes, resulting in a safe, narrow band of 222 UV light emission. In fact, PURO Protect 222 is one of the only Far UV products that have been UL approved to fulfill US regulations for germicidal equipment for use in inhabited spaces and is categorized in the photobiological risk category. 

Ready To Take On Tough Situations 

There are two PURO Protect 222 devices available: a single Far UV emitter, ceiling-mounted device that provides continuous air and surface disinfection in inhabited environments, and the Protect 222 High Bay, which has two Far UV light emitters for usage in industrial and commercial buildings. 

“There’s great value in using our PURO Protect 222 products in a variety of situations where there are people in high-traffic areas. So we’ve created two products that best cover the needs of various environments,” says Stern. “Our PURO Protect 222 is a surface mount unit that’s designed to be installed on 9-12 foot ceilings in commercial or medical spaces. 

“But, we’ve also had a lot of customers ask for other kinds of applications for our Protect 222 units like manufacturing lines or school cafeterias where you have higher ceilings and larger spaces to disinfect. That’s why PURO Protect 222 High Bay was designed specifically for ceilings above 12 feet and to disinfect larger environments. 

Bathrooms, sterile processing, emergency departments, critical care units, nurse’s stations, urgent care centers, patient exam rooms, waiting rooms, and other high-traffic locations in healthcare benefit from both items. 

“We are already seeing a lot of customer interest with our PURO Protect 222 products and over the next couple of months, we plan on adding 2 or 3 more product categories to this series,” concludes Stern. “That’s what’s really so exciting about our Protect 222 products. It allows us to continue to offer our customers the most highly certified and safest UV disinfection products on the market.” 

Source: https://uvreporter.com/the-latest-solution-in-uv-air-and-surface-disinfection/

We’re extremely excited to let you know about PURO Lighting’s great leap forward in our growth and our ability to bring the best UV products, technologies and service to our customers, partners and colleagues!

Today, we’ve announced that PURO has agreed to merge with Applied Ultraviolet, Inc., (AUVI) a publicly traded company that will now become one of the dominant players in the fast-growing UV disinfection space. Together, PURO and AUVI will be able to create a new product development, manufacturing, and sales powerhouse operating across many sectors of UV technologies. We will have one of the broadest portfolios of UV products from the latest advances in Far UV-C technology, to revolutionary HVAC disinfection systems, and proprietary NASA-developed Photocatalytic Oxidation disinfection solutions.

We believe this is the kind of growth and opportunity that will propel us forward to bring improved air quality, safer environments and even potentially life-saving UV disinfection technology to as many people and places as we possibly can.

But most importantly, this merger will allow us to grow our ability to develop exciting new products, explore important new technologies, and build PURO into an organization that offers more service and value to our customers, partners and the industry at large.

Of course, Brian, Webb, and Jim, along with our entire PURO Lighting team will continue to serve you the best way we know how and look forward to finding even newer and better ways to bring excellence and value to our relationship with you.

Here’s to new opportunities and great success in 2023!

Brian Stern, CEO
Webb Lawrence, COO
Jim Colantoni, CRO

With the rise of multiple COVID-19 variants, children under 12 being unable to receive the vaccine, and multiple other variables, it’s now more crucial than ever to make sure a proper strategy is in place.

As we continue to learn more about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its continuous mutations, we begin to recognize the value of proven, time-tested eradication technologies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put schools and universities all across the US in an extraordinarily challenging position. For schools that are currently open, or planning to reopen, the need to create a six-foot radius, and requiring students to wear masks, and frequently wash their hands is a challenge to say the least. Virtual learning, the alternative, can negatively impact a child’s quality of an education, safety and social life. That’s why in-person learning is critical as it provides a supportive learning environment for all. Schools also must consider the risk they are taking on behalf of the families, their teachers and faculty, and the community at large. Even when schools plan and prepare, coronavirus cases may still occur.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that schools consider 2 key factors when planning for reopening or staying open: current infection rates in their community and how well their mitigation strategies will prevent the spread. This is where PURO™ UV Disinfection Lighting, powered by Violet Defense® technology comes in. PURO Lighting is dedicated to helping communities reopen and keep schools open to support safe learning for students of all ages. Using PURO UV Disinfection Lighting, in combination with other safety measures, will make parents and educators feel safer as schools continue operating during, and even after, COVID-19.

Schools need to be able to provide safe and healthy spaces to successfully remain open. PURO Lighting products are quick, affordable, incredibly flexible, and kill up to 99.9% of bacteria and viruses* by destroying their ability to reproduce. We understand it can be challenging to quell the fears of community members and successfully communicate the safety measures in place. That’s why PURO Lighting is also available to work with our school and university customers to help communicate how the technology works to make community members feel safer sending their children back to school.

It is widely understood that COVID-19 spreads more through aerosols than on surfaces. A custodial routine that only cleans surfaces is not enough. PURO Lighting uses broad-spectrum light, including germicidal UV-C, UV-B and bactericidal UV-A to optimize their efficiency on both surfaces and airborne particles. PURO Lighting products can provide a level of disinfection in the air that will help prevent the spread of airborne diseases and pathogens.

PURO Lighting has four different disinfectant lighting products suited for any schools setting. Helo fixtures can be mounted on a wall or built right into a ceiling for programmable and automatic disinfection. Sentry mobile units can be rolled into different classrooms on a portable stand for maximum flexibility. And our new PUROBOT UV programmable disinfection robot can be used throughout the school, as it automatically disinfects large spaces and high-touch areas such as hallways, gyms, locker rooms, kitchens, auditoriums and more. The PUROBOT UV robot can also be leased and can prove to be an outstanding value to help keep all schools and universities open, safe and disinfected from today’s coronavirus, to influenza, and any other virus that may pop up in the future. Our products are designed for ease of use, so janitors can set up quick, safe disinfection routines that do not need to operate while educators and students are at school. We are proud to offer a high-tech, powerful and affordable approach to disinfection in schools to promote healthy environments and peace of mind for students, teachers and parents alike.  

*SARS-CoV-2, E. Coli, MRSA, Norovirus, C. diff, C. auris

So many of our customers have been asking us the same thing – can they use Federal CARES Act funds to purchase PPE, cleaning materials, and sanitizing equipment necessary to maintain safe operations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic? The answer is simple. Yes, you can. But you are running out of time to use those funds!

Schools, medical facilities, doctor’s offices, and many businesses can still secure UV light disinfection equipment before CARES Act funds end December 31, 2020.

Our company, PURO™ UV Disinfection Lighting, powered by Violet Defense® technology, can help you navigate your ability to use CARES Act funds to purchase full-spectrum UV light disinfection equipment that can help safeguard your facilities to be up to 99.9% pathogen free*. Our powerful, full-spectrum UV light equipment has already been proven to disinfect for SARS-CoV-2, or the virus that causes COVID-19, and is already effectively helping people from coast to coast prevent the further spread of the virus. Our team of engineers and experts can not only help you create space disinfection plans for your facilities, classrooms or offices, but we can help you write grants, communicate to boards, and even help you share your disinfection story with all those who need to hear how you’re approaching safety.

Time’s running out, but we’re here to help! For more information visit purolighting.com or reach out to sales@purolighting.com.

Jim Colantoni, Chief Strategy Officer, PURO UV Disinfection Lighting

*SARS-CoV-2, E. coli, MRSA, Norovirus, C. auris, C. diff