Seoul Viosys supplies COVID-19 killing UV LED lights
This photo, provided by Seoul Viosys on Friday, shows the company's UV LED-equipped air conditioners can kill viruses and bacteria including the COVID-19 coronavirus. / Courtesy of Seoul Viosys
By Baek Byung-yeul
Seoul Viosys is supplying to global air conditioner manufacturers with ultraviolet LED lights proven to sterilize the COVID-19 virus, the UV LED product maker said Friday.
The company, an affiliate of Seoul Semiconductor, the world's fourth-largest LED maker, said two leading air conditioner manufacturers, including China's Gree Electric Appliances, would use its UV LED products that use “violeds” technology for their new products.
Seoul Viosys has co-developed the violeds technology with its U.S.-based subsidiary Sensor Electronics Technology (SETi). The patented technology is widely used for disinfection, deodorization and phototherapy of various kinds of appliances such as medical devices, air and water purifiers, bidets and home appliances.
“The violeds UV LED technology adopted for Gree's Fresh Air air conditioner is a differentiated UV technology that provides robust disinfection on the evaporator surface, as well as sterilization of any indoor airborne contaminants drawn into the air conditioner, including various harmful viruses and bacteria, ensuring that only fresh air is discharged,” the company said.
Seoul Viosys claimed its UV LED-equipped air conditioners were proven to sterilize the coronavirus which causes COVID-19, according to findings of local researchers.
“According to the results of testing conducted in April and May by a research group at Korea University, the violeds technology has been proven to sterilize 99.9 percent of the coronavirus in 30 seconds,” the company said. “Seoul Viosys provides major customers with optimized UV LED products based on these successful test results.”
It added that the UV LEDs could kill 99.15 percent of viruses and bacteria.
“Through the results of testing by Guangzhou Institute of Microbiology in China, Gree demonstrates that its new Fresh Air air conditioner with the violeds technology has the performance to sterilize 99.15 percent of viruses and bacteria, 98 percent of enteroviruses such as EV71 and H1N1, and 99 percent of staphylococcus albus bacteria,” the company said.
The company said its UV LEDs should be used increasingly in other air conditioners as experts have been warning of the possibility of the coronavirus spreading through air conditioners. Due to the concern, the education ministry recently released a guideline to keep all windows at least one-third open at all times while running air conditioners.
“Because air conditioning systems operate by circulating indoor air drawn in and discharged again, aerosol transmission is a concern when using these systems,” said Kim Chae-hon, executive vice president of Seoul Viosys.
“In South Korea, health authorities rolled out new guidelines for citizens to prevent aerosol transmission, which included advising people to open windows every two hours when using their air conditioners.
“We offer an optimized solution to simultaneously enable disinfection of airborne viruses, as well as air purification by disinfecting the air drawn into the air conditioner and eliminating airborne viruses using the Violeds technology.”