Changing UV-A lamps why and when

As we all know, there is still little or no awareness of the fact that UV-A light deteriorates over time and, as a result, lamps are not replaced or are replaced too late. As a result, an EFK will work less well or even not at all.

Determine the absolute effectiveness of UV-A lamps:

A measurement can be made with a UV-A meter at any time. This measurement provides insight into the lamp intensity which is given in mW/cm2 . The measured value (intensity) found must then be multiplied by the total lamp surface area

This Intensity x the lamp area gives the total UV-A output for a lamp in an absolute value (in milliwatts). To measure the number in watts, divide the result by 1000.

A more practical approach is as follows:

A standard lamp with a life of 1 year has a decay (loss) of around 50% after 8760 hours, (= 1 year). After one year this lamp still has a measured intensity of around 5 mW/cm2

What is the minimum UV A value you need to attract insects?

This is a good question, but one that is also very difficult to answer. This minimum value is largely determined by the natural light present in the room and the size of the room. In a small and dark room, you need significantly less UV/A light to attract insects than in a large room with plenty of daylight.

So it is not possible to give an absolute value. There is a theoretical model that we use for optimizing UV/A output, but it is not directly applicable – translatable – in practice.

In order to be competitive with daylight, we recommend changing the lamp if the measured value is below 5mW/cm2. .