What is UV-C?
One kind of radiation that falls inside the spectrum is UV (ultraviolet) light, which is measured in nanometres (nm). UV light is invisible to human sight, although visible light is.
Three types of ultraviolet radiation exist: UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C.
The wavelength of UV-A is the longest, spanning from 315 to 400 nm.
The medium wavelength of UV-B is between 280 and 315 nm.
The wavelength of UV-C is the shortest, spanning from 200 to 280 nm.
The damage and penetration decrease with decreasing wavelength. On the other hand, more penetration and less harm occur with longer wavelengths.
Microorganisms may be successfully killed by UV-C, which has a germicidal impact among the three kinds of UV rays. When UV radiation is absorbed by microorganisms' DNA, it stops the microbes from reproducing and growing. UV-C light is often used to disinfect bacteria and viruses.
The sterilising function is the primary distinction between UVC, UVA, and UVB. The ability of UVC to sterilise is its finest characteristic.
What is UV-C LED?
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that produce photons in the UV-C region at wavelengths made up of many layers of substrate material are known as UV-C LEDs. The ideal wavelength range for sterilisation is between 260 and 270 nm. The sterilising action diminishes exponentially with increasing wavelength.
UV-C LED Vs Traditional Mercury Vapor Lamp
Although UV-C LEDs have several benefits over conventional mercury vapour lamps, they nonetheless carry out the same tasks.
While UV-C LEDs are better for the environment and have a longer lifetime, they have the same sterilising power.
More UV-C LED goods have been developed as a result of new developments and technologies to render viruses and bacteria inactive.
Let's first examine a summary table to discover the benefits of UV-C LEDs over traditional mercury lamps in order to assist people better grasp the distinctions between the two types of lighting:
UVC LED Price Trends
Forecasting the price patterns of UVC over the next ten years
1. The cost of UVC LEDs will rise between 2020 and 2030 as their technology advances and they are used by people for purposes other than sterilisation, such as disinfecting surfaces, water, and air.
2. How UVC power conversion is expected to change during the next ten years
The primary reason UVC LEDs are still unable to fully replace sterilising ultraviolet mercury lamps for medical applications is that their light is still insufficient.
3. More LEDs or more time will be needed to provide the same sterilising effect as mercury lamps.
4. At this point, using UV LEDs for disinfection is not cost-effective for professional medical facilities with a high volume of usage and a wide variety of sterilisation settings.
5. The development of UVC LEDs will move towards high power during the next 10 years, resulting in increased energy efficiency.
Advantages of UVC LED
(1) UV sterilisation is quick and effective. As seen in Table 4, bacteria, viruses, mould spores, algae, and fish illnesses may all be eliminated in a matter of seconds at a UV intensity of 30,000 μW/cm2. Additionally, some research noted that when exposed to an LED ultraviolet lamp at a vertical position of 2–5 cm for 5 minutes, the killing rate of Staphylococcus aureus on the infected bacteria carrier was 100%; the killing rate of E. coli also reached 100%; and J. L. Clancy et al. thought that the inactivation rate of Cryptosporidium could surpass 99.9% at a UV radiation dose of 30J/m2.
(2) Nearly all bacteria and viruses are effectively rendered inactive by ultraviolet radiation. Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger, influenza virus, and hepatitis B virus are among the ten frequent bacteria and viruses listed in Table 4. It is evident that UV radiation effectively inactivates the viruses and bacteria on the list.
(3) The UV sterilisation process operates steadily. Sterilisation and detoxification are physical processes that won't impact human health or create more hazardous byproducts.
