Light + Health

As long as the threat and reality of pandemic-level super viruses continue to wreak havoc, the topic of germicidal lighting for indoor disinfection is bound to come up. Before blasting surfaces with ultraviolet (UV) light, however, there are some important things to consider and a few facts.

Signify’s new commercial UV-C disinfection luminaires offer building owners a potential tool for disinfecting air, surfaces, and objects.

Hubbell Lighting’s SpectraClean 254 expands the company’s SpectraClean portfolio, which launched in 2019 with 405-nm solutions. The portfolio features a series of luminaires that combine visible white with 254-nm UVC energy to meet ambient and task lighting requirements while providing a continuous, unobtrusive disinfection option for commercial applications.

Leviton Lighting recently announced it has entered into a licensing agreement with GE Current to acquire its 365DisInFxTM UVA technology, a new disinfection lighting technology, for incorporation into the company’s lighting portfolio. The patented technology can help to disinfect surfaces in occupied spaces, with immediate applications in healthcare, commercial, and educational facilities via Leviton Lighting & Controls luminaires.

Coronet’s GUV series provides direct visible white illumination for general lighting while emitting 275-nm UV-C in the indirect component for upper-room disinfection.

LightingEurope is advocating the installation of UV-C disinfection technologies as part of the European Union’s Renovation Wave (part of the EU Green Deal) and the application and enforcement of existing safety rules and standards.

OSRAM recently introduced the Air Zing Mini air purifier, a 7.5-centimeter round device that fits in air vents, to disinfect germs from the air inside vehicles to improve air quality for drivers and passengers. Using UV-A-emitting LEDs, the device can eliminate up to 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, according to the company.

The American Lighting Association (ALA) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), and UL recently released a new position paper due to an increased demand for ultraviolet light as a sanitizing and germicidal agent during the COVID pandemic. The position paper brings attention to UV device safety risks and helps manufacturers, retailers, and consumers understand which devices are safe and under what conditions they can be operated safely.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Hungarter, Commercial Indoor Director, Cree Lighting, on the topic of tunable-white lighting, focusing on its potential intersection with circadian health. The interview informed an article I wrote for the November 2020 issue of tED Magazine, the official publication of the NAED.