Ultravation – Replacement Filters and Lamps

How often should I replace residential lamps?

1-year Replacement: Residential UVC lamps should be replaced every 9000 hours or approximately every 12 months. For people with respiratory conditions or other acute sensitivities, we strongly recommend keeping to an annual lamp replacement schedule.

2-year Replacement: If your UVC lamp is strictly used for keeping coils clean on your HVAC unit, you can save money and the environment when you use your lamps for their maximum two-year life span. UV lamps should then be exchanged after a maximum two year installation period.

UV lamps running beyond three years may contribute to excessive power consumption of the ballast which can cause overheating of the power supply and lamp, further deteriorating the effectiveness of the product and/or cause system failure. If the UV lamps are not to be replaced within a three year period, turn off or otherwise disconnect power from the system until new lamps can be installed.

Ultraviolet lamps are comprised of two electrode filaments (the spring looking wire at each end), a glass and quartz combination vacuum tube, several inert gases and approximately 3 mg of mercury (Hg).

These specialty lamps are designed to provide light energy in the germicidal spectrum of 254 nm (nanometer = one billionth of a meter). As they operate, they slowly loose their germicidal effectiveness, about 15% per year. If the UV system is installed for the sole purpose of protecting HVAC equipment such as coils and blowerssurfaces that stay consistently in the range of the UV lamps, then the UV lamps will be effective for about 18,000 hours or two years.

If the primary operation of the UV system is to aid in the reduction of indoor air contamination, then the recommended lamp replacement interval should be one year. This will ensure needed higher energy levels are maintained to aid in the reduction of moving (airborne) microorganisms circulating through the HVAC system.

UV lamps should then be exchanged after a maximum two year installation period for several reasons, including:

The disinfection effectiveness will be significantly compromised and the system will not be able to generate UV-C light as specified. Note that even though a visible blue glow can seen though the system viewport, the glow is not UV light (which is invisible) but actually a by-product of the operation.

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Ultravation - Replacement Filters and Lamps