Hey, everyone. It's Daniel Littwin, the voice of b to b coming at you from the Market Scale Home Studio. I'm joined today on the line by Tim Bogoski. He's Midwest regional manager at Field controls. Tim is joining us on the line to briefly chat about whole house UVC air purifiers and their potential effectiveness against viruses. It's something that's been on the mind of facility and building managers across the nation as we continue to deal with a pandemic and more and more states and businesses reopen. People are flown into retail establishments, their office spaces, and of course air quality is of top concern. So we're gonna be chatting about one solution to maintaining that air quality at high level. Tim Bagosky, great to have you on. How are you doing? I'm doing well, Daniel. I hope you are. Yes, thank you very much. Have you been holding up during this pandemic? Extremely busy. Yes. The current pandemic all around us. I would assume so. Yeah. So let's go ahead and get into what is keeping you busy. Again, we're talking whole house UVC air purifiers and potential effectiveness against viruses. So with the current public health issues surrounding the pandemic, there's more we can do to protect from viruses, as well as bacteria, mold, and other airborne germs. So Tim's here to make the case for ultraviolet or UVC air purification systems as part of the solution for neutralizing viruses. Tim, could you give us just a brief overview as to why UVC is a solution you would advocate for to treat these viruses? Well, number one, it's been utilized in hospitals for disinfection. Of medical equipment and the surrounding areas since nineteen twenty. However, Anobiotics became available, so they got away from it. However, as we have viruses and bacterias that are more resistant, to antibiotics, germicidal lamps are extremely effective, but knocking down these these items. It was quite popular in nineteen thirty seven. It actually was discovered in eighteen o one, and won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in nineteen o three for the inoculation of tuberculosis. Germanized lamps placed above the air conditioning coil and in one's HVAC duct system will drive energy into those organisms lancing through the cell wall, if it's a bacteria, or through barriers of protein, if it happens to be a virus. When we do that, what takes place is that you actually prevent it from reproducing. You create lesions on the nuclei or on the RNA, which in turn does not allow it to reproduce. These are easily installed by a mechanical or an HVAC contractor, and it is a a big boost to your filter. Filtration is not capable of trapping the particular virus we're dealing with today. You're talking something that is ten thousands of one inch. So it can go through our best residential filters. In the event that dog dander, pet dander, airborne mold, Over the things that pass through it, we can use UVC, dermicidal lambs to eradicate them and make our home a much safer place. So if the filters that are already existing in HVAC systems aren't really capable of trapping viruses Do you think that this inclusion of a germicidal lamp and UVC technology should become a mainstay regardless of if there's a pandemic in the United States? Is there a value in having something to prevent viruses spreading at all times? You know, I guess what is the the impetus for wanting bring that in even if there's not a pandemic raging across the world? Well, we're exposed to bacteria and viruses, whether it be the flu or colds and other things. So implementing this into your HVAC system allows you to have some additional protection within your home or within your castle. Very effective in knocking down these microorganisms, especially if you have children with special needs. So there's a there's a secondary benefit. There's no telling what children and others can bring back home into the into the home. From being out there, let's say, whether you're in school or even from the workplace. So it gives additional protection for the entire family unit. So, you've been mentioning this in context of the home family, does this technology have benefits in b to b applications as well, taking a German side of lamp or UVC tech and applying it to a commercial HVAC system for an entire facility or an office space or a school even, let's say. Excellent question, Daniel. Absolutely. By continuing to drive the air across germicidal lamps, you're able to blanks that protein barrier or that cell wall, which in turn then will reduce reduce them not only in the home, but also in commercial applications or bed and breakfast, anywhere where you would have a air distribution system field controls products can be implemented. When considering installing UVC technology and something like a germicidal lamp into your HVAC system? What are some of the technical considerations that go into that process, both at the commercial and the residential level? Both initial just installation and then also making sure that it's an accessible piece of technology for future updates or maintenance. Excellent question, Daniel. Field controls recommends that you actually update your filter system approximately to Merv thirteen or a little less depending on what your system can actually tolerate. And then implementing UVC, germosidal technology above the evaporator so that you sterilize it and prevent the growth of biofilm and that being blown into the home. At the same time, there's a reflectivity process that takes place as it strikes the aluminum evaporator you have some that bounce off in the when I say bounce off, I mean, the UVC light actually bounces off. So you get indirect light, which creates a more intense zone in the evaporator area as the air passes by, driving more radiation into the bacteria and viruses that are affecting the individuals within the space. And that doesn't matter if it is residential or commercial. Field controls has several germicidal lamps, and we also have what's known as dual and trio technology that reduce chemicals in the air at the same time. Not only do we have viruses or microorganisms in the space in particular, But because our homes are getting tighter, quite often, there's high levels of chemicals also in the space that need to be reduced. So that we have a healthier environment for the occupants. So, are UVC products completely safe? I mean, I'm sure the answer is yes to some degree, but I guess maybe to refine that question, are there any safety concerns at all with installing a UV product or a germicidal lamp. What do those look like? And how should facility managers and building managers maneuver the, you know, added layers of maintenance needed or safety precautions needed to make sure everything operates smoothly. Excellent question. Yes, Germanicidal lamps, UVC German sitel lamps are safe. They must be installed, inside of the HVAC systems ductwork so that we keep that radiation within the duct system do not directly expose the occupants. As mentioned before, these have been around since nineteen twenty. Very effective at reducing microorganisms, extremely safe when kept inside of the HVAC duct system. Every time the microorganism will pass through that treatment zone, it will get a dose of UVC energy driving it through the protein barrier or the cell wall, sterilizing these particular microorganisms so that they cannot reproduce. Tim, just for some context, if we compare what field controls is bringing to the market with their UVC products versus other germicidal lamps in field, What are the differences? What makes Field Controls products unique? Or what about your service do you offer that is different than the rest of the market? Excellent question, Daniel. Thank you. Mhmm. Field controls products. Create no ozone. Many producers of germicidal lamps today include ozone within their product offering. In turn, Asrae recommends that that be kept to extremely low levels and not actually placed in the occupied space, Ozone is an oxidant that attacks organic matter, and our lungs are extremely sensitive organic matter. The elderly and the children actually have more sensitive lungs than the ones of us in the middle. So Field controls products generate no ozone. We also do not place hydrogen peroxide or peroxyls into the space, because those are also oxidizers, which in turn attack organic matter. If you're going to utilize ozone or hydrogen peroxide in the occupied space. Our recommendation is that don't put it in the occupied space. It actually should be placed in the space when it is unoccupied and then totally ventilated before the occupants are allowed to reenter to make sure that they are safe. You'll see that Ashray, the American Society for heating, refrigeration, and air conditioning engineers recommends the same. CDC recommends the utilization of UVC, germicidal lamps. They say nothing about ozone. They're using UVC energy to sterilize the subway systems in New York. So it it's it's currently being used in the hospitals. This is very effective in knocking down microorganisms and is extremely safe when installed by licensed HVAC contractor or a mechanical contractor that is familiar with the installation process. What would you say are some of the structural limitations to getting this technology installed at scale for, you know, practically any HVAC system across the United States. Would you say it's a lack of education on the technology? Is the price higher end, so it's not as accessible for, you know, every strata of business. What are your thoughts? The larger the system, the more lamps you're gonna need, you know. If you have a big system, you're gonna have to have more lamps to cover the area. They can be properly installed and sized accordingly depending on what the owner occupant wishes to accomplish. You only wanna knock them down a little at a time, it'll be less money. If you wanna try to kill them on a single pass, Of course, there will be a larger investment. However, technology, whether it's time and intensity So you have to have a lot of power, kill it on a single pass, or you have less power, and it takes multiple passes to knock it down. It depends on what the individual's budget may be or the owner occupant budget that he has available. To determine on how quickly he may wish to alleviate the issue. Alright, Tim, thank you so much for your thoughts today on the program. Just finally, if people wanna learn more about Field Controls as UVC, products, and germicidal lamps, Where can they go to learn more about the basics as well as potentially reach out for an installation? Field controls dot com would be the website, There are numerous videos there and product information that people have utilized as technology and have been extremely happy with the results. Also two five two five two two three zero three one is the direct phone line to the factory. We're available to help them properly sized product and help them not only with germicidal, but filtration and ventilation. The other two components go in parallel to dermicidal lamps. You need to ventilate the building so you have proper air, not too much carbon dioxide in the space. You need to control your particles. You need to go after microorganisms. We call it the healthy home system. When we deal with germs, gases, in particulate, and then you have to have a methodology to control so that you can deliver it all year long for the occupants. Thanks again, Tim. Again, we've been chatting with Tim Pagoski. He's Midwest regional manager at Field controls. Tim, we appreciate your time, and we'll be chatting again soon. Thank you, Daniel, and you have a wonderful day. Be safe out there.
