UVC lighting, which has been around for more than a century, is often used in health care settings to eliminate TB, MRSA, mold and bacteria.

Since 1965, Parker Lighting, Inc. (Parker Lighting) has been a staple of the Inglewood community providing lighting solutions for residential, commercial, industrial, and retail spaces in Southern California. Parker Lighting has been counted on to provide advice, lighting fixtures and illumination for homes, shops, stadiums, hospitals, public areas, and educational institutions throughout the years, and as noted by Owner Louis Hirsch, “We sell everything from incandescent lighting and decorative fixtures to LEDs and everything in between. We light your world.”

In fact, Parker Lighting has provided lighting solutions for large and small clients alike, including California Community Colleges, Long Beach VA Hospital, City of Manhattan Beach, City of Inglewood, USC, and even Madison Square Garden.

Combating Sick Buildings with UVC

These days, lighting can mean so much more than simply illuminating a space. The literal health and well-being of building occupants is affected by the building’s environment, and advanced lighting products can help in the fight. Hirsch explains, “Sick Building Syndrome is not a new concept—as a matter of fact it was coined by WHO as early as 1986 to describe indoor building occupants who experienced acute health and comfort effects.”

Fast forward to 2021—the problem has continued to grow. Today, airtight buildings, improper ventilation, contaminants, and pathogens perpetuate the problem…so much so that one out of four new/renovated buildings in the U.S. are still classified as sick buildings. And, to accelerate the problem—along comes COVID-19—an airborne virus that has essentially created “the sick building on steroids.”

To combat this threat, Parker Lighting has gone beyond the usual roster of fixtures and lighting products to offer UVC disinfectant lighting solutions for a wide range of applications, including office buildings, schools, public agencies, restaurants, grocery stores, libraries, warehouses, houses of worship and entertainment venues, which have all been hard hit during the pandemic.

The use of UVC lighting to promote a healthier environment in homes and commercial buildings is not a new concept. Furthermore, UVC lighting has been around for over 100 years, as Paris has been using it for water purification since 1910, and it has been used in hospitals, operating rooms, and medical offices to eliminate TB, MRSA, mold and bacteria. Now, since the COVID outbreak, it is being utilized in nonmedical applications as well.

In support of this technology, UVC is a GSA mandate and approved technology by ASHRAE & CDC. Additionally, in the most recent version of the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) currently under review, UVC will be a requirement for all new and retrofitted HVAC systems for any commercial buildings with occupancy exceeding one person per 15 square feet.

Hirsch explains that to effectively control and reduce the airborne exposures, which in some cases can live up to three days, it is necessary to have proper ventilation. This might mean retrofitting or replacing HVAC systems with UVC, a proven technology that can provide up to 99.9 percent pathogen reductions.

“HVAC systems are more efficient using the UVC disinfectant lighting by killing the mold that affects the efficiency of the systems,” Hirsch says, adding that the payback period is one to four years. “By adding UVC to HVAC, clients may receive energy incentives and money available from the CARES ACT. Plus, on an as-needed basis, we can provide a wide variety of funding alternatives.”

Complementary Solutions

He further stresses that UVC disinfection solutions can work well for a variety of commercial and industrial locations, noting that while “multiple manufacturers have entered the market, we only work with U.S. manufacturers with EPA-certified and lab tested fixtures.”

Parker Lighting, with its commitment to going above and beyond, provides a host of UVC lighting solutions for occupied and unoccupied spaces. The company’s products offer disinfecting solutions in an eco-friendly way that do not leave chemical residue. But, if chemical disinfectants are being used—UVC can be added to provide the ultimate one-two punch if these chemicals survive the UV bombardment without any poisoning.

Shedding Light on Customer Needs

Beyond the technology itself, Parker Lighting brings its expertise to bear when working with customers, no matter what the needs might be. As Hirsch explains, “We go in and find out what the situation calls for and what the customer wants. They might be thinking they need one thing, but we work with them to find the right solution for each situation. There’s always more than one way to attack the problem.” He adds, “We are committed to working with customers to keep people safe and healthy.”