How Does UV Light Technology in an Exhaust Hood System Work?

By Tom Carter, Vice President of Sales, Caddy Corp.

The hood has a series of removable, high efficiency, cartridge type, grease-particulate extractors. Behind these, inside the hood, are a series of ultraviolet “C” lamps.

The grease vapor and effluents that are not collected by the high efficiency cartridge extractors pass over the lamps. For the grease that would normally collect in the hood, ductwork and exhaust fan, a chemical reaction converts this grease to carbon dioxide, water vapor and microscopic non-grease compounds. None of the compounds support fire or collect in the ductwork.

The lack of grease collection is a major benefit because it helps keep the duct system, exhaust fan and any air pollution control device clean. This process drastically reduces any steam cleaning requirements and costs.

This hood cleaning technology was introduced in Europe in 1998 and was brought to North America in 2000.

The cost of a UVC hood system is competitive to water wash hoods and there is also an additional capital savings because there no need for drains, grease trap requirements or other related plumbing costs.

UVC General Information

• Types of light: Ultraviolet (short wave lengths, 180 – 380 nm); visible light (medium wave lengths, 380 – 780 nm); infrared (long wave lengths, 780 – 1800 nm).
• UVC light is divided into three bands: UV-A (rays that tan the skin); UV-B (rays that cause sunburn); UV-C (strongest rays, and the closest to X-ray bands).

Design Data

• UVC bulbs last for 8,000 hours of operation.
• Sensors and/or micro switches are used as safety shutoff interlocks to prevent accidental eye contact with UVC light.
• 120-volt operation with six amps required at each hood section.
• Master control panel monitors light operation, airflow, hours of operation and on/off status.
• UVC capacity is designed for gas fired heavy-duty char-broiler applications.

Key Benefits of a UVC Hood System

• Cleans grease out of hood chamber, ductwork and exhaust fan, leaving a cleaner and safer exhaust system.
• No special installation requirements or costs.
• Self-monitoring for lamps and fan operation.
• System requires no wash down and uses less than 300 watts of light for every seven feet of hood.
• The system has the same maintenance requirements as a standard baffle filter hood, with the filters cleaned periodically in a dishwasher.

The Energy Savings
There is no wash down system requiring hot water, detergent pumps and drain system use. Hot water wash is a large operating expense when compared to UVC systems. There is little to no steam cleaning required throughout the duct system. Clean ducts and fans extend the life of the system. The result is a substantial reduction in cleaning costs for air pollution control systems.

Comments

[Carl]

What wattage and type of UVC bulbs are used in this application?
This is an interesting application, but I am unclear of the method of UVC application.

http://www.uv-sterilizer-directory.com/

[mike]

I like this application but I'm not sure on how effective is this.

http://www.gorlitz.com