Winter means cold and flu season here in Westlake, OH, and to a certain extent, there’s nothing we can do about that. The conditions always make illnesses spread, and while you can take basic steps to cut down on the impact, sooner or later, your family is going to get hit with a nasty bug or two. The good news is that you don’t have to leave it at stocking up on chicken soup and bundling family members up against the cold. A UV germicidal light installed in your HVAC system makes a formidable weapon in the war against winter colds.
Why Are There Always More Colds in the Winter?
The specific causes of colds and illnesses in the winter can be traced back to a number of factors. For starters, cold air tends to be dry air, since the ambient moisture coalesces into liquid form as the temperature falls. As a result, your sinuses and mucous membranes become drier, leaving your body more vulnerable to colds and flu.
That’s often compounded by conditions in your home: not only dry air, but stuffy air as well. We rarely keep our doors and windows open for very long in the winter, and for good reason: we don’t want to let the heat out. That has an unfortunate side effect, however: it keeps germs circulating in your home to infect more and more family members. The trick is treating them without having to open your home up to the elements.
How Can UV Lights Help?
Ultraviolet light is what causes our skin to burn when we stay out in the sun too often. At lower levels, it’s perfectly safe—to us at least—and UV lights are used to make white clothes glow in the dark at concerts and similar spots. One-celled organisms like germs suffer a much different fate, however. The light either kills them outright or prevents them from replicating. Either way, put them in contact with the light and they cease to cause you or your family any harm.
The trick is to deliver the maximum amount of exposure in the minimum amount of space. Your heating and air conditioning system circulates the air in your home gradually, allowing you to take advantage of that process to cleanse the air of germs. UV germicidal lights are placed in the ducts, and as the air blows through, the germs and other biological contaminants are exposed to the UV light.
That takes place whenever you turn your heating system on, working in conjunction with it to purify the air as well as warm your home. UV lights work in the summer as well, providing year-round protection for almost no effort. You should consider them regardless of your circumstances, but we especially urge those who are expecting a new baby to install one in their homes, providing an extra level of protection for your family’s newest addition.
For installation, repair and maintenance of UV germicidal lights in your home, call the pros at Westland Heating & Air Conditioning today
