Winter is here, when the spread of germs between people cooped up indoors leads to flu outbreaks and makes the common cold entirely too common. Prevention is the best medicine, and one of the more effective ways to prevent winter illnesses is to invest in UV lights for your HVAC system.

UV (or ultraviolet) light is not often thought of as a health aid. It is better known for causing suntans or sunburns. But, what UV light can do to your skin is amplified for germs and other single-celled organisms that have no skin to protect them. UV lights kill germs, if they are exposed to enough of the invisible rays. The interior of your house, and especially the interior of your HVAC system, is a rather dark place where germs are protected from the rays of the sun. By installing a UV-light source inside your HVAC ducts, though, you can kill off germs in the air, without exposing the living areas of your house to a single UV ray.

UV lights have been used to kill germs and prevent the spread of disease for a long time. Hospitals, for instance, have used UV lights for decades to both sterilize instruments and to keep germs from traveling through the air between patients.

There are multiple types of UV lights, but those that are installed inside the HVAC duct system are most effective for cleaning the air. The HVAC system naturally circulates all of the home's air through the ducts, repeatedly exposing all airborne microorganisms to the germicidal UV rays. UV light also kills the mold that can grow within an air-conditioning system, which both aids in keeping your system running efficiently and prevents mold spores from causing or aggravating allergies and other respiratory problems.

To learn more about how a duct-mounted UV-light system can clean your air and keep your family healthy, feel free to contact us at Tri-County Heating & Cooling. We've been helping residents in the Greater Cincinnati area improve indoor air quality since 1969, and would be happy to do the same for you.

UV lamp image via Shutterstock.