Chris C. Willette, president, Triatomic Environmental, Jupiter, Fla., was granted a U.S. patent on May 17 for a mini ultraviolet (UV) germicidal irradiation light system invention designed for the tight confines of mini-splits and other HVAC industry ductless air conditioners.
Patent number US 9,339,579 B2 is currently marketed under Triatomic Environmental's Fresh-Aire UV® brand, the largest manufacturer of UV-C and photocatalytic oxidation/activated carbon indoor air quality (IAQ) products in North America.
The invention consists of two pencil-thin, 9 (L) x 3/8 (D)-in. UV lamps and a 6 (W) x 1.5 (H) x 1 (D)-in. 120 or 208-230-VAC power supply. Fresh-Aire UV has sold the system under the product name Mini UV™ since 2011 and also repurposed it in 2015 as Ice UV Mini™ for nursing station and retail countertop ice and water dispensers.
Willette's conceived the invention more than 10 years ago, when he realized that commercial and central residential system UV light systems available at the time for were too large to fit the world's millions of mini-split evaporator coils. The invention inhibits all mold and other biological growth on blower and evaporator coil interior surfaces. It also sterilizes germs, viruses, allergens and other pathogens that can flourish in all ductless HVAC systems including PTACs, fancoils, recreational vehicle air conditioning, and other compact refrigeration systems. The system installs in just minutes and an installation video is available at www.freshaireuv.com.
The patent follows another one granted in 2008 for the Blue-Tube UV, a residential low-voltage UV light disinfection system that has become the HVAC industry's top-selling UV light product. Fresh-Aire UV is known as a UV innovation leader and currently has more than 12 inventions awaiting patents.