UV Furnace lights

[Jerry Simon]

Do UV lights on furnaces do much good in killing germs, bacteria, etc. ?

[kurt]

The lab studies say yes. As far as improving indoor air quality of the entire house, it's not so clear.

[Jim Katen]

I think that they work pretty well at killing the stuff that basks in the light. Evaporator coils seem to stay cleaner when located under these lights.

I don't believe that they have any effect on the stuff in the air that whizzes by.

[Scottpat]

They work, but the lights need to be replaced as they loose their effectiveness over time. I had a HVAC contractor who installs them in hospitals tell me that for optimal effectiveness the bulbs should be changed every year in homes and every six months in clinical settings. He said that after 30 days of 24/7 use, the bulbs will degrade about 10-12% from their original effectiveness and this continues.

[Les]

I have them at the office and am very happy with the results. I really don't think they kill many bugs after a very short time (see Scott's post), but they do really improve the air smell quality.

The office was always musty smelling and we had one smoker in the back office. I closed the warm air return in that office and installed two uv's in the system(s) and the difference was amazing.

We changed the bulbs once.

I often see them in medical settings, so it is likey they do kill stuff.