Union Health becomes the first health system in the State of Indiana to complete UV-C clean air installation.
The new air filtration system, that uses ultraviolet light, has officially been installed throughout the Union Health System.
"We have done multiple studies that show a good clean sanitation protocol for your surfaces, coupled with this technology is the very best way to combat the existing pandemic," Patricio Daneri, Managing Director of Energy Harness, said.
Here's how it works.
Air is drawn into the filtration system. UV-C light then eliminates all airborne pathogens in the air and filters out only clean air. The concept is safety for people in a defined space and continuous disinfection of that space.
The fixture is installed into standard ceiling grids found in most office buildings, schools and medical facilities.
"Union Health is the very first healthcare system to implement UV-C technology," Daneri, said. "We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the demand. We have an amazing relationship with Union Health, so they were one of the very first to adopt the technology, but we have multiple other systems that are in the process of adopting this cutting-edge technology."
"The unit is designed for a 16' x 16' room," Daneri said. "We can generate the entire air in that room to be cleaned every 17 minutes. The goal is to really clean the air in the room every 30 minutes. If we can remove the air and have it cycle through, then it is a success."
48 units have been installed throughout the Union Health System.
"We really concentrated on entry points to all of our facilities, along with testing areas and waiting rooms," Mike Mullins, System Director of Facilities at Union Health, said. These are not only high traffic areas, but we also had to look at square footage and the best use for the systems."
UV-C technology is more than 200 years old. In fact, Union Hospital has been using UV-C for more than 100 years. However, until now, patients and UV-C could not be in the same room, at the same time. That's because UV-C light can damage your eyesight. With this new cutting-edge technology, the Energy Harness Active AirFlow chamber safeguards the UV-C chips within the fixture – keeping humans safe.
So, what exactly is UV-C?
Within the ultraviolet light spectrum, there are different categories – different nanometer wavelengths. The UV-C spectrum (260-275nm) has enough power to eradicate anything that goes through its path.
Daneri says this includes Influenza, Tuberculosis, Legionnaire's Disease and COVID-19.
"The one exciting thing about our UV-C Technology is, it is not specific to COVID-19. God forbid, COVID-21 came out we can very precisely dose the unit to fight that path. So, it is UV-C technology to keep the air completely clean, no matter what," Daneri said.