<h2 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">HVAC UV-C Air Purification</h2><p dir="ltr" id="isPasted">Residential HVAC units are a natural place for UV-C air purifiers. With direct access to an entire building’s air, these in-duct HVAC UVC units are capable of protecting the entire residence from all kinds of harmful airborne pathogens without taking up an inch of floor space. The residential UV air purifier for hvac industry, and corresponding product offerings, has seen a massive boom since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and momentum isn’t slowing.</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://islproducts.com/component/ballasts-for-uv-germicidal-lamps/" target="_blank">UVC ballasts</a> specifically designed for residential air purification systems are becoming a necessity. A UV air purifier for HVAC devices within a residential setting typically has a ballast that can be powered as a standalone device or it can be integrated by a certified electrician into the home’s existing HVAC controller, typically run on a 24VAC system. A UVC ballast is designed to operate special germicidal HVAC UVC lamps to their fullest potential. These germicidal UV lights for HVAC systems are often hidden inside the HVAC system, to prevent any occupants from looking directly at the harmful germ-killing UVC light. Residential HVAC UVC systems are becoming a vital part of our home lives and will continue to be used in homes around the world.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Overview</h2><p dir="ltr">One of our customers manufactures products for air and water purification via the use of germicidal lamps. We were asked to design a ballast that would power 425mA UVC lamps in residential HVAC systems. The integration needed to be simplified so it could be installed by the end consumer instead of by a licensed electrician, like previous ballasts required. They wanted a simple, plug-and-play solution.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Challenge</h2><p dir="ltr">The customer wanted us to build a ballast that would be wired directly to a residential HVAC air handler, 24VAC electrical system. The ballast was to be installed by the average consumer. The germicidal lamp our ballast was operating needed to survive at least 10,000 on/off cycles.</p><p dir="ltr">The system is designed to turn on and off with the air handler within the HVAC system. The difficulty with such a system is the harsh start up conditions that the germicidal lamp is subjected to along with the frequency, being tied into the air handlers duty cycle.</p><p dir="ltr">An air handler within an HVAC system can go on and off 30 or more times per day. That means that the UV lamp, similar to a fluorescent lamp, needed to have a pre-heat starting cycle and reach a strike voltage every time the lamp was lit. If this is done without considering the life of the bulb, the bulb could die after 1,000 starts.</p><p dir="ltr">In order for the customer to get a full replacement warranty from the bulb manufacturer, the bulb manufacturer required the bulb to survive 10,000 on/off cycles.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Solution</h2><p dir="ltr">ISL collaborated with the customer’s lamp manufacturer to <a href="https://islproducts.com/case-study/electronic-ballast-for-hvac-purification-uv-germicidal-lamps/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">design this ballast</a>. This ballast features a Programmed Start feature which allows the lamp to start up and last over the 10,000 cycles without lamp burnout.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">We also designed a custom housing with an integrated lamp socket so that the ballast could be installed directly into the UVC air purifier, without any additional wiring. It’s a simple, plug-and-play design that simplifies the installation process making it a true DIY project for any homeowner.</p><p dir="ltr">Once the design was complete and cycle testing was finished, ISL submitted the product through the safety agency for UL and cUL certification.<br><br></p>

The power behind UV-C lamps that keep homes safe from airborne pathogens. 

24VAC Electronic Ballast for Residential HVAC Purification UV- Lamps

<h2 dir="ltr">Introduction to Electronic Ballasts</h2><p dir="ltr">An electronic ballast is an electronic device that is used to regulate the current and voltage in an electrical circuit. Electronic ballasts are used in electrical assemblies containing gas discharge lamps (ie. Mercury, Amalgam, Fluorescent, etc). Older designs were magnetic, operating via magnetic induction. Most ballasts made today are electronic, making them more compact. They also produce very low noise, which greatly reduces pulsing from the lamp resulting in the longest lamp life possible.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 300px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1624376403443-Wevolver+Image+BODY+Ballast+Basics.png" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Electronic Ballast for UV-C Germicidal Applications&nbsp;</span></span></span><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">&nbsp;</p></div><p><br></p><h2 dir="ltr">How Ballasts Function with UV-C Lamps</h2><p dir="ltr">Mercury and Amalgam based UV-C lamps need a high voltage applied between the electrodes to spark the lamp. The<a href="https://islproducts.com/component/ballasts-for-uv-germicidal-lamps/" target="_blank">&nbsp;uvc light ballast</a> ramps up the input voltage and has an output voltage high enough to spark the lamp. A ballast is needed due to the construction of the lamps, they have negative resistance between the two electrodes. Additionally, a large voltage difference between the electrodes is needed to spark the lamp. The ballast converts the input voltage to the 400 ~ 1,000 volts required to spark the lamp. Once the lamp is sparked and arc is achieved, the ballast limits the voltage to a lower working voltage to keep the lamp illuminated, whilst regulating the power draw of the lamp.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">Without the ballast, the current through the lamp would increase rapidly until it blew out because of the high voltage and negative resistance. The voltage drop once the lamp sparks is around 300V. This voltage can range up to a couple of thousand volts, depending on the assembly, making the operation voltage of the lamps quite low. In general, the overall current draw of a ballast/bulb system is relatively low.</p><p dir="ltr">Within the<a href="https://islproducts.com/case-study/electronic-ballast-110v-240vac-for-uv-c-germicidal-lamps/" target="_blank">&nbsp;germicidal ballast</a> there is a combination of resistors, capacitors, inductors, and other printed circuit board level components that dictate the overall output characteristics of the ballast. The ballast converts a sinusoidal AC input, of around 50-60 Hz, and modulates it to a 20-80 kHz square or sine wave pulse output. This eliminates the flicker that was originally associated with gas filled lamps.</p><h2 dir="ltr">UV-C Applications</h2><p dir="ltr">UV-C purification has continued to gain popularity over the last few years. UV-C germicidal technology has been proven to be very effective in the<a href="https://islproducts.com/case-study/electronic-ballast-for-hvac-purification-uv-germicidal-lamps/" target="_blank">&nbsp;HVAC industry for air purification</a>. In the more commercial settings with higher foot traffic, surface disinfection is also a very important focus. New products utilizing germicidal ballasts are being developed every day.</p><p dir="ltr">UV-C light is also used in ozone generation, which is used for air and water purification. When ozone is produced by a UV-C lamp, the ozone and the light work in tandem to destroy harmful pathogens.</p><p dir="ltr">Another area where you will find UV light ballasts being used is in industrial pipe leak detection devices. Ballasts can also be used in various UV printing and curing applications.</p><p dir="ltr">As a result of COVID-19 and other harmful viruses, UV-C technology has become a necessity in a variety of industrial, residential, commercial and healthcare environments. This has only increased the demand and sales for UV-C sanitation systems.</p><p dir="ltr">As UV-C purification systems are implemented in more and more industries the demand for UV-C specific ballast continues to increase. If you would like to learn more about ballasts check out our article “<a href="https://islproducts.com/design-note/uv-c-ballast-start-types/" target="_blank">UV-C Ballast Start Types</a>” to see how you can maximize performance and ballast life in your applications.&nbsp;</p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii" style="width: 372px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img alt="12V DC Ballast for UV-C Bulbs" src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjIzOTUwMjM4NTMwLTE2MjM5NTAyMzg1MzAucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" style="width: 372px;"><span class="fr-inner">12V Ballast for UV-C Bulbs<br></span></span></span><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">&nbsp;</p></div>

As UV-C technology increases in popularity, the demand for UV-C specific ballasts have skyrocketed. Learn more about this vital piece of technology!

Ballasts for UV-C Lamps: The Basics

<h2 dir="ltr">The Light That Fights To Keep Us Safe</h2><p dir="ltr">Utilizing UV-C light to kill germs has made the headlines over the past year, specifically how it is being used to help destroy pathogens like COVID-19. UV-C light is contributing to a safer environment in a big way. Robots and other UV-C equipped devices can be found sanitizing New York City’s trains and buses, Fenway Park, as well as Long Term Care facilities. <a href="https://islproducts.com/the-history-of-ultraviolet-germicidal-irradiation/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UV technology</a> has been around for a very long time though. The best way to understand how far UltraViolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) has come is to look back at the beginning.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">It might surprise you that the first paper published about UV light and its relationship to microbial organisms was published in the 1870s. In fact, the 1903 Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded for the use of UV light to fight diseases like lupus.</p><p dir="ltr">The theory all started with sunlight. Arthur Downes and Thomas P. Blunt published “On the Influence of Light Upon Protoplasms” in 1877. They discovered that sunlight was harmful to the growth of bacteria. It was already known that, unlike plants, bacteria didn’t need sunlight to grow. This was the first time it was recorded that sunlight was in opposition to bacteria growth.</p><p dir="ltr">Niels Finsen was the first to begin using artificial UV sources. Finsen created an electric carbon arc light, which he named after himself, that operated in the blue “Chemical” light spectrum. He would put several of these devices together to treat lupus vulgaris, a tuberculosis of the skin. This type of treatment became known as Photobiomodulation, now known simply as Light Therapy, and won Finsen the 1903 Nobel Prize in Medicine.</p><p dir="ltr">In the 1930s Harvard School of Public Health instructor William F. Wells had the idea of aerosolized infectious droplets in the air that spread disease and theorized that UV light would be able to kill them UV ventilation systems were installed on the upper walls of a few schools near Philadelphia for Wells to study. He recorded that rooms without the UV devices had a 53.6% measles infection rate, compared to rooms with the UV devices that had a 13.3% infection rate. Wells and his students continued these experiments and learned to optimize these devices so they worked on more diseases like Tuberculosis.</p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjIzNDUwNzc4ODEzLUhvcml6b250YWwgVVZHSSBUaW1lbGluZS5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 747px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr">While UV water sanitization began in the 1950s, it gained major traction in the late 1990s. UV light is particularly good at killing Giardia and Cryptosporidium, both of which have strains that are immune to chlorine. While UV water filtration is more common in Europe, it’s becoming increasingly popular in North America in smaller groundwater plants. UV light is not only popular for it’s pathogen fighting characteristics, it’s also a cheaper alternative to chlorine based treatment options. As older chlorine systems are phased out, new UV-C systems are taking their place.</p><p dir="ltr">UVGI gets re-examined every time there is a new global health threat, and COVID-19 is no exception. The only difference this time is that there is 100 years of medical and scientific knowledge to lean on.</p><p dir="ltr">Some of this technology is familiar, like UV-C wall mount air disinfectors similar to what William F. Wells put in those Pennsylvania school houses 90 years ago. Others are more modern, like the autonomous UV-C sanitation robots being rolled out at most major sporting arenas. Some of these devices are not seen at all, like the devices being added to commercial and residential<a href="https://islproducts.com/case-study/electronic-ballast-for-hvac-purification-uv-germicidal-lamps/" target="_blank">&nbsp;HVAC systems</a> to clean the circulating air.</p><p dir="ltr">Most of these systems are using mercury amalgam bulbs with quartz housings, very similar to Finsen’s lamp from over a century ago. But technology has made major improvements since then in terms of power delivery. UV-C specific ballasts allow bulbs to last longer and perform at peak efficiency. Ballasts tailored to each bulb and use case have allowed UV-C sanitation to perform leaps-and-bounds better than it did in Finsen’s time.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">ISL Products has been designing and manufacturing ballasts to help the growing UV-C market for over a decade. Read this design note on the <a href="https://islproducts.com/design-note/ballasts-for-uv-c-lamps-the-basics/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">basics of UV-C ballasts</a> for a better understanding of what's literally driving the UV industry.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">While UV-C light has had quite a year in the headlines, it has been working tirelessly to make the world a little safer for over a century. It has fought COVID-19, SARS, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Measles, and Tuberculosis. Through tireless work by scientists and engineers the technology has improved to fight each of these diseases, and will continue to improve in preparation of the next big virus.</p>

The use of UV-C light has made the headlines over the past year. While it may seem like UV-C is a relatively new technology, it’s actually been around for over a century.