TUVL-215 – ULTRAVIOLET BULB
A UV lamp that still glows blue is not a lamp that is still working - visible light and germicidal output fall off on completely different schedules, so replace it on the calendar, once a year, not when it goes dark. Write the install date on the housing with a marker. Kill power at the air handler first, handle the new lamp by its base so you are not leaving fingerprints on the quartz, and never look at one that is energized.
10226 Plano Rd, Suite 104, Dallas TX 75238
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Fresh-Aire UV genuine replacement UVC lamp, quartz insulated, with a 2-year effective life and a 15 in. lamp length. This is the standard replacement lamp for Blue-Tube UV and APCO systems. A pigtail-plug version is sold separately as TUVL-215P.
Specifications published by the manufacturer. Source: manufacturer documentation.
Specs
- BrandFresh-Aire UV
- TypeReplacement UVC lamp
- Lamp length15 in.
- Effective life2 years
- ConstructionQuartz insulated
- Related partTUVL-215P (with pigtail plug)
My UV lamp still glows. Why replace it?
Because visible glow is not the same as UV output. These lamps keep lighting up long after their germicidal output has fallen off, so the blue you see through the sight glass tells you the ballast is working, not that the lamp is still doing anything. Manufacturers rate them for a service life measured in months of run time and specify annual replacement, and that is the interval to work to.
Does a UV lamp clean the air in my house?
Not the way the marketing implies. A coil-mounted lamp is aimed at the wet evaporator coil and the drain pan, and what it does well is keep biological growth off surfaces that stay damp - which in DFW, where the coil sweats most of the year, is a real job. It is not an air purifier, and it does nothing for dust or for particles that never pass close to it. Filtration is what handles particles.
Ozone or no ozone?
For residential HVAC, no ozone. Standard germicidal lamps are 254 nanometre and do not generate meaningful ozone. Lamps sold specifically as ozone-producing are a different product for unoccupied spaces, and running one in an occupied home is a bad trade. Match the replacement to what your fixture was built for.
Anything I should not do?
Do not look at an energized lamp, and do not run one outside its housing. UV-C burns eyes and skin quickly, and it degrades wire insulation and plastic it shines on directly. Kill power at the air handler before the access panel comes off, and handle the new lamp by the base, since fingerprints on quartz reduce output.
