They say that sunlight is the best disinfectant and although the original context was that of politics, it holds true for microorganisms too. Indeed, recent studies released by the CDC prove that the virus is quite susceptible to the UV portion of sunlight. In fact, the study says that the half-life of SARS-CoV-2 is about 90 seconds. Compare this to a half-life of 2.7 hours in indoor conditions with ordinary interior lighting.
We know from studies that only a small percentage of COVID infections come from outdoor interactions. It makes sense when you think of it because outdoors, often sunlight is abounding, and fresh air is plentiful. This is the idea behind companies such as Lambent Hygienics as they battle to make public indoor spaces safe for people to visit. According to Lambent principal Rob Islander, “Our strategy in short, is to safely recreate the conditions of outdoors, inside your public space.”
One of the leading theories on why there is seasonality to respiratory viral infections in the temperate regions of the world is because of the ebb and flow of the germ killing solar ultra-violet (UV) levels and the amount of time people spend outdoors. This battle has been going back and forth since the beginning of time. What if we could make our public interior spaces more like those wonderful sunny summer months where the bothersome, and at times life threatening, viruses abate.
Although in recent years we’ve been warned about exposure to the UV rays in sunshine, we know that as in most things, moderation is key. Companies such as Lambent Hygienics are able to design lighting systems that bring carefully controlled amounts of UV light into spaces like restaurants, movie theaters or any other venues visited by the public. This artificial UV energy kills the airborne virus particles as well as viruses that have settled on exposed surfaces. Through careful design, Lambent’s systems are able to keep people safe from the harmful effects of UV light by observing the industry established daily safe limits for exposure to UV. For individuals that are particularly sensitive to UV, they can of course wear clothing that they would as if venturing outdoors on a sunny day, such as a hat and long sleeves or applying sunscreen. The rest of us can go about our business in comfort and with confidence that we are in the safest indoor environment that modern technology can create.
This new approach to making indoor spaces safe is a key development in the war on COVID-19 and helps us restore the way of life we all enjoyed before the pandemic and the technology and the benefits it brings are available now thanks to companies like Lambent Hygienics.
References:
Article on DHS study on covid-19 half-life in various conditions: https://www.barrons.com/news/us-govt-reveals-details-of-sunlight-study-on-virus-01588126207
White paper on Inactivation of viruses by solar radiation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1280232/
Study on Indoor transmission of SARS-CoV-2: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053058v1.full.pdf
Media ContactCompany Name: Lambent Hygienics LLCContact Person: Rob IslanderEmail: Send EmailPhone: 657-777-0580Address:217 Detroit St. City: Huntington BeachState: CACountry: United StatesWebsite: https://www.lambenthygienics.com/
