Specialty and Architectural Lighting — Ultraviolet Light

Years ago, we published an article on the harmful effects of ultraviolet light from the sun. This article is a follow-up discussing the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation from artificial sources like light bulbs. Ultraviolet light is naturally-occurring, and most of it reaching earth originates from sunlight. While it can...

The veterinary service industry in the USA is a large market, with pet owners spending $38.3 billion in 2023 alone for animal care and related products. There are over 100,000 veterinarians in the USA, and more support staff. While veterinarians use a variety of tools and methodologies in diagnosing and...

Ultraviolet UVB bulbs are used in a variety of medical, industrial, and other applications. There are a couple variations of UVB bulbs, based on the output spectrum of the lamp. These are referred to as Narrowband and Broadband UVB lamps. The names are somewhat self-explanatory in terms of the relative...

One common question we get is whether a UVC HVAC system can help with allergies. And with spring returning to much of the Northern Hemisphere, seasonal allergies are a large concern for people, with nearly a quarter of US adults being affected. In general, a UVC air purifier installed in...

Mercury short arc light bulbs, often referred to as mercury vapor lamps, are a type of electric discharge light source that utilizes mercury vapor to produce light. These lamps are known for their ability to produce a bright, intense light with a characteristic blue-white hue. Mercury short arc lamps are...

Screen printing is a printing technique used to transfer designs onto a variety of surfaces, including fabric, paper, wood, and metal. The process involves creating a stencil, referred to as a "screen," and using it to apply layers of ink onto the printing surface. Screen printing is widely used for...

A light guide for ultraviolet curing is a component of the curing system that helps direct and distribute UV light efficiently to a specific area for curing or hardening of materials. In UV curing, ultraviolet light is used to initiate photochemical reactions in inks, coatings, adhesives, or resins, causing them...

Ultraviolet curing is a process that uses UV light to cure or harden coatings, adhesives, and inks in a wide range of industrial and commercial applications. This technology is particularly beneficial for sectors such as medical device manufacturing, fiber optics, electronics, and lens production, where precise, fast, and solvent-free curing...

Ultraviolet water purifiers are effective in disinfecting water by neutralizing harmful microorganisms. There are two primary types — whole-house and point-of-use (POU). Each type has various pros and cons depending on the installation and usage needs. Whole-House UV Water Purifiers A whole-house water purifier treats all water entering the home,...

Ultraviolet (UV) water purifiers and sediment filters can be utilized in an integrated system to provide a comprehensive approach to water purification by addressing different types of contaminants. Sediment Filters Remove Large Particles Sediment filters are designed to remove larger particles from the water. These particles can include dirt, sand,...

Owners and facility managers looking for a way to disinfect the indoor air in offices, medical centers, retail stores, schools and residential care facilities will find that their HVAC system may provide the safest and most cost-effective approach. Buildings equipped with a ducted heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system are...

In addition to the deadly and debilitating impacts of COVID-19, its spread within communities has also illuminated the inadequacies of basic prevention and control strategies in place at public facilities and institutions. One of the most glaring examples is residential care facilities. There are currently (2021) over 16,000 nursing homes...

Upper air ultraviolet germicidal equipment is designed to provide air disinfection within an occupied space. The louvered upper air units are wall or ceiling mounted above the "human zone" in the space, generally at 7 feet or higher. The usual UV-C 253.7 nanometer (nm) wavelength emitted by the germicidal light...

Dating back to the late 1960's and early 1970's, ultraviolet light was used to cure wood fillers and coatings on furniture. Since then, with the development of a wide range of UV curable materials and specialized equipment, UV curing has grown exponentially - widely adopted in manufacturing, graphic arts, and...

You may have noticed that the specifications for fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent bulbs, and ultraviolet lamps provide watts, but almost never volts. Why not? Ballasts, invisible inside the fixture, are required for all fluorescent bulbs to operate. Ballasts modify the line voltage they are connected to (120V, 277V, etc.) so...