Harnessing the Power of Ultraviolet Light in Your Home

It turns out, UV lighting can do more than give you a tan. When you’re discussing air quality in your Orlando-area home with your Rainaldi technician, there may be a suggestion to add UV lighting to your HVAC system as a way of purifying the air.

Why UV Lights?

Using certain UV lights in your home comfort system can prevent microorganisms from circulating throughout the ductwork, and the lighting works as a disinfection process. The type of UV lighting used in your home is short-wave and invisible to the human eye, so it’s not the kind of UV rays that you associate with causing tanning of the skin (UVA) and skin cancer (UVB). Bacteria, fungi, and viruses can be killed by exposure to the type of UV rays in your home comfort system (UVC).

How is UV Lighting Effective?

If installed by a trained professional like Rainaldi, UV lighting can be very effective in your home’s system’s air quality and health. It’s important to understand that only a professional with experience installing ultraviolet germicidal lights should install and replace the lighting. The system’s effectiveness depends on the correct placement and direction of the right number of lights, as well as the temperature and humidity levels within your home or business.

How does UV Lighting Work?

Dark, damp areas are breeding sites for mold, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Your home’s air conditioning unit greatly expounds the potential for growth of these health-inhibitors because of the coolness provided by the cooling coils and the darkness that is the entire unit. The potential for growth is just a natural byproduct of these conditions, but it doesn’t have to be the only result.

Ultraviolet lighting kills bacteria, fungi, and viruses in two different ways: air and surface. The lights, which resemble fluorescent bulbs, are installed inside the air handler, between the cooling coil and the filter rack. The light kills anything growing on the cooling coil and whatever might grow on the drain pan below.

Is UV Lighting for Me?

If the idea of bacteria, fungi, and viruses floating around your home disgusts you, then, yes, adding UV lighting is for you and your home or business. Discuss installing these bulbs with your Rainaldi service specialist to see how they fit within your current home comfort system. Pairing UV lighting with an air filtration system will help your family and employees breathe a little easier while helping your system work a little easier as well.

Call Central Florida’s home comfort experts at [scad_phone] to discuss how Rainaldi can help bring more health to your home with UV lighting.

Is It Too Much to Ask My HVAC System to Clean My Cool Air?

These days, we expect more out of our appliances. Gone are the days of single-use items that only keep food cold or wash your clothes. Now, your fridge can tell you the weather outside while your clothes washer can sanitize your clothes. So, why wouldn’t you want your heating and cooling system to do more than just keep your home comfortable?

By adding an air cleaning system to your home comfort system, you’re enabling your HVAC to do just that: multi-task. Now, not only can your home’s comfort system work to keep your house cool, but make the air your family is breathing healthier.

Rainaldi is now offering ultraviolet (UV) cleaning systems with every new air conditioning system purchase. The use of UV rays in sterilization isn’t anything new; it’s just new to the home comfort game. Adding UV lights to your air conditioning unit helps to keep your home cleaner and healthier because the lamps eliminate bacteria, mold, and germs at the source of your home’s air—the air conditioning unit.

How Does UV Light Work in My Home?
Ultraviolet germicidal lamps break down the DNA of mold and bacteria that can gather on your air conditioner’s coils. There are three different types of ultraviolet light, all of which are emitted from the sun. The lamps used within home comfort units use UVC light, which is the only type of ultraviolet light with a high-enough measurement of energy to sterilize microbes.

Once these lights are installed in your outdoor air conditioning unit and your air ducts, a fan is also installed, which assists in moving the air past the lights, thus allowing the microbes to pass through the light more often. The fan also helps improve the efficiency of your air conditioner.

The UVC light kills microbes in the air: bacteria, viruses, fungi, or mold. It’s a seamless process that happens whenever your system is active.

We recommend that your air ducts undergo a thorough cleaning before installing ultraviolet lamps. This allows for the lights to work more efficiently from the onset of the system installation. A heavily contaminated duct system might require a lot more work on your fan and lights before it can be successful in cleaning and sanitizing the air.

Plus, and how’s this for multi-tasking, adding UV lamps to your air conditioner not only helps keep your home healthier but also helps your system work at peak efficiency, thus lowering your utility bills.

Orlando’ AC Experts

If you live in the Orlando area, contact Rainaldi today to discuss how we can step up your HVAC unit’s efficiency while providing a cleaner, healthier home for your family.

Help Your Family Breathe Easier & Be Healthier

The quality of a home’s indoor air is often overlooked and neglected. The fact is most of us worry more about air pollution outside our homes rather than the problems that exist inside. You might be surprised to learn that we spend more time inside our home than anywhere else. And with this current health crisis and staying safe at home, this fact has never been truer. Good indoor air quality (IAQ) improves the quality of life for you and your family by keeping everyone healthier (and happier!)

Our homes contain many pollutants that can create health issues for our families. Contaminants such as dirt, dust, mold, mildew, pollen, pet dander, and pest droppings, along with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can all exist in our homes and contribute to health problems. VOCs are chemicals that evaporate at room temperature and are found in air fresheners, glues, paints, and cleaners. It’s important to not only know these pollutants have the potential to cause health issues but also to be aware of how to eliminate the risk.

Poor air quality can affect your health in many ways. Some symptoms may appear as allergies or asthma-related issues. You may also experience symptoms such as fatigue, skin rashes, eye irritations, nausea, sinus trouble, and coughing. Poor air quality can even create higher numbers of bacteria and viruses to be present in the air. As currently recommended, many people are wearing protective, face masks when we leave the house to be safe. So, the last thing you want to do is introduce any type of additional risk into your home, especially when it has become your safe haven.

One way to address the air quality issues in your home is by adding a whole house air filtration system to your current HVAC system. Air is circulated throughout your home via your HVAC system, and like most homeowners, you probably rely upon a basic air filter that is only capable of filtering about 3-5 percent of the particles that pass through. A whole house filtration system can remove virus-sized particles and bacteria, airborne contaminants, allergens, and dust from the air. In fact, 40 times more efficient than the standard filter in protecting you from irritants. A whole house air filtration system will also keep your HVAC system running more efficiently by removing these same pollutants.

Another option for improving air quality issues in your home and keeping your family safe is by using ultraviolet (UV) germicidal lamps. Since your HVAC system, as we mentioned above, circulates the air we breathe throughout our homes by adding a UV germicidal lamp to your system you can kill any mold and bacteria at its source. A UV germicidal lamp is directed at your HVAC system’s coils and breaks down the DNA of mold and bacteria and eliminates it. The addition of a UV Lamp to your heating or cooling system can reduce allergic reactions, illnesses, as well as eliminate odors from growth on your HVAC coils. The accumulations of mold and mildew in your HVAC system cause it to work less efficiently, by eliminating these elements you will also improve the efficiency of your system.

Improve the Air Quality in Your Orlando Area Home

Now more than ever we need to be concerned about the quality of the air in our homes. By addressing the contaminants within your home and eliminating them, you can breathe easier and know that your family is safe and healthy. At Rainaldi Home Services, we’re here to answer any of your indoor air quality questions or concerns. Feel free to call us at (206) 156-2849 or contact us online anytime.