Herkimer College installs UVGI technology

HERKIMER, N.Y. — Herkimer County Community College (Herkimer College) says a recently completed project seeks to benefit the health and wellness of students, employees, and campus visitors as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. 

The project included the installation of ultra-violet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) technology in the school’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the school said in a March 5 news release. 

UVGI is a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet (ultraviolet C or UVC) light to kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unable to perform vital cellular functions.

Herkimer College contracted with Eastern Energy Solutions, Inc. (EES), an energy contracting & consulting firm based in Afton in Chenango County. 

The installation work started at the beginning of January and finished in February, says Bob Granger, president of Eastern Energy Solutions. He spoke with CNYBJ on March 8.

“This is the best technology that you can use to fight any kind of pathogen like this, whether it’s flu or SARS or COVID-19 or future COVID strains,” Granger contends. “It deactivates the DNA and [the pathogen] can’t multiply.” 

On its website, EES says it is “focused on increasing profitability for clients by identifying and implementing design-build solutions that reduce operating costs, improve the working environment and resolve power quality issues negatively effecting operational and production cost.” 

How it works

UVGI lighting systems are designed to provide air purification, reduced maintenance, and increased energy efficiency within the air-handling units in which they are applied. As air passes through the UV-C light spectrum/wavelength, airborne infectious pathogens that can cause respiratory sickness, disease, and infection (including COVID-19) are rendered inert, in-turn providing high-level, facility-wide disinfection of the air supplied to occupied spaces. 

Eastern Energy Solutions says it has been working with UVGI technology since 2008, primarily in the hospital, dairy, and laundry sectors.

UVGI has been around for more than 75 years and was primarily used in the health-care industry where microbial disinfection is a “major concern,” but with the recent pandemic, market sectors and homes are implementing the use of UVGI, Granger notes.

Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act dollars “100 percent funded” the nearly $100,000 investment in UVGI technology, Nicholas Laino, senior vice president for administration and finance at Herkimer College, said. 

“First and foremost, the health and wellness of our campus community is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining a safe environment for our students, employees, and visitors,” Laino said.