UV-lit fans can kill COVID-19, tests confirm

January 25, 2021

A new ceiling fan that uses ultraviolet (UV) light can kill 99.9 per cent of the SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen that causes COVID-19, according to the Canadian distributor and independent test results.
The Haiku-UV-C fan, manufactured by Big Ass Fans of Kentucky and distributed in Canada by Big Ass Fans of Oakville, Ontario, are being eyed as a potential cost-saving and effective method to help make homes, schools, and work and public spaces safer.
The near-silent ceiling-mounted fans use disinfecting ultraviolet (UV) lights built into their base and aimed up at the ceiling. As the fan circulates air throughout the room, the UV lights kill airborne pathogens that cross their path, Big Ass spokesman Nick Georgescu told Home BUILDER magazine.
UV light can pose a danger to a person’s eyesight if viewed directly, which explains why the fans direct light to the ceiling.
Compared to conventional fans, the Big Ass versions are expensive, starting at around $2,000 for a unit large enough to clean a 1,000-square-foot space. But the cost is much less than retrofitting advanced ventilation and filters into older buildings, Georgescu explained.
Big Ass released results of a study from Innovative Bioanalysis, a California lab that tested the fan against the coronavirus in April 2020.
A cover letter to the testing report written by Kevin Noble, COO of Innovative Bioanalysis, states, “It can be concluded that between 10 and 20 minutes there was an overall [pathogen] reduction of 99.99 per cent or greater.”
Intertek, an international testing lab with offices across Canada, tested Big Ass’ Haiku-UV-C in April 2020 in a 1,000-cubic-foot test chamber, which was exposed to a bacteriophage commonly used as a stand-in for deadlier pathogens. Results showed a 99.9 per cent kill rate on the pathogen within 10 minutes.