Comparison: Blue light vs. UVC and Chemicals
The below table shows the superiority of blue light compared to legacy methods for surface disinfection. Using blue light makes total sense for all organizations: the best performance, most economical, and none of the adverse effects of legacy methods.
With blue light you change the whole disinfection paradigm - from a tedious task done once per day to automatic and safe disinfection that happens continuously (read more about continuous disinfection with blue light here).
Comparison table: Blue light vs. traditional disinfection methods
| Spectral Blue™ system: visible blue light & photocatalytic coating |
Ultraviolet light (UVC) | Chemical wiping |
|---|---|---|
| Kills 99% of microbes in 15-30 minutes, full disinfection in ~2 hours | Performance varies, can be fast from short range | Quality of disinfection depends on human effort. In practice required contact times are difficult to reach. |
| Safe for people, does not require any safety training for staff. Allows continuous disinfection. |
Hazardous to humans:
Safety training required. |
Long-term exposure to chemicals / toxic substances can cause:
Safety training required. |
| Safe for indoor materials | High-energy UV radiation degrades polymers (plastics) and pigments (wall paint, other surface finishes) | Chemicals may wear surface materials and damage electrical equipment. |
| Safe for environment | UVC tubes contain hazardous mercury, and generate ozone. | Toxic chemicals end up in seas and are harmful for sealife and sea ecosystems. |
| Does not promote antimicrobial resistance | Surviving microbes may develop resistance to UVC light. | Surviving microbes may develop resistance to some chemicals. |
| Penetrates biofilm | Does not penetrate biofilm. | Often does not penetrate biofilm. |
| Penetrates transparent glass & plastic, and reflects well | Easily absorbed, poor penetration of glass and plastic. | - |
| Removes odours such as cigarette smell | - | - |
| LED-based technology has a long lifetime, up to 50.000 hours | UVC tubes require constant replacement. UVC LED lifetime is max 10000 hours (and are very expensive). | - |
| Makes surfaces dirt-repelling, making cleaning easier and faster: chemicals no longer needed, water and soap will do! | - | - |
| Recommended for indoor areas, where people work and move daily | Cannot be used for disinfecting whole rooms where people work or move. Recommended only for closed spaces such as A/C systems and disinfection cabinets. | Reduction of chemical load is recommended wherever possible. |