Northern Light™ – Air disinfection for the fight against Corona

Northern Light™ – Air disinfection for the fight against Corona

Airborne infections are an invisible threat to human health and companies’ productivity. Northern Light™, a newly patented Danish invention combines a slowly rotating and very large ceiling fan with UVC light that disinfects the air above. The Northern Light™ fan thus ensures better energy utilisation and Co2 reuctions while killing airborne viruses and bacteria, including SARS-COV-2 (also known as the virus that causes COVID-19).

The threat posed by airborne viruses like corona is greater than ever before. All company leaders therefore have a motivation to protect their employees as well as customers against these invisible risks. So far, it has been proven difficult to efficiently disinfect bacteria- and virus-riddled air in a room while there are still people present. A new Danish invention changes this. Nordicco A/S is a Danish manufacturer of HVLS fans who has collaborated with UVC light specialists ULTRAAQUA A/S in developing a new generation of HVLS fans. The fans have been named “Northern Light™” and are the first of its kind to integrate elegant upward disinfecting UVC light into their blades, making it possible to ensure both efficient mixing and disinfection of air while people are still present in a room.

According to Dennis Thomsen, the CEO of Nordicco A/S:

“Over the last few years, we have successfully introduced companies, municipalities and larger educational institutions in Northern Europe to our slow rotating fans. The fans are up to five metres in diameter and ensure temperature equalisation, across even very large rooms. This contributes to significant energy savings, lower CO2 emissions and a better overall indoor climate.” He continues “We focused the scope of our development efforts even further when the corona pandemic hit Denmark and the rest of Europe in early 2020. Because of this, and with support from the Danish Fund for Innovation as well as our partners at the Danish Technological Institute and ULTRAAQUA, we were able to rapidly develop the technology and file patents. The product has since been named Northern Light™. Here we have combined two recognised and proven technologies in a way that now makes it possible to deliver energy savings, CO2 reductions and better indoor climate, while at the same time killing airborne bacteria and viruses, including the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.”

The Northern Light™ fans have integrated five disinfecting 60-Watt UVC lamps into the fan blades, with the lamps being positioned in such a way that the light sources point upwards, thus disinfecting air as it passes over the blades. An effective way of moving and cleansing large volumes of air.

According to Dennis Thomsen, Nordicco A/S has patented the new solution, and the main benefit of Northern Light™ is that the fan effectively disinfects the air while there are still people in the room.

“By combining the advantages of the NORDICCO HVLS fans with the benefits of UVC light, we have created a solution that effectively disinfects air, killing viruses and bacteria. This is a solution that can be of crucial importance to, for example, canteens, factory halls, educational institutions and other premises where many people are gathered.” he says.

The NORDICCO HVLS fans have been tested at the Danish Technology Institute with the support from ELFORSK, which is Danish Energy’s research and development programme. The finalized results showed several advantages.

“The NORDICCO HVLS- fans have the capacity to move large volumes of air, ensuring that warm air does not collect under the ceiling during the colder months, ensuring a uniform temperature across the entire room. This makes it possible to achieve significant energy and CO2 savings. During the summer months, the HVLS fans can produce a cooling sensation and are in many cases seen as an alternative to expensive air conditioning systems.” says Merete Lyngbye, Section Manager for Ventilation and Indoor Climate at the Danish Technological Institute.

She is convinced that, within just a few years, the HVLS-fans will have gained a strong foothold in Northern Europe due to their efficient and budget-friendly ability to ensure better energy utilisation.

Using UVC light as a disinfectant to kill airborne viruses

Development partner ULTRAAQUA A/S has been developing products that use UVC light for disinfection for many years and is also enthusiastic about this new invention that allows you to effectively disinfect the air in a room.

“When a human being sneezes, for example, a large number of viruses are sent into the air. These viruses will spread unless they are eliminated or diluted with clean air. Thanks to the disinfectant effect of UVC light and the fan’s ability to move large amounts of air, Northern Light™ allows us to quickly dilute air with clean air, eliminating pockets of high virus concentration.” Says Ole Grønborg, CEO and co-owner of ULTRAAQUA.

He explains that the Northern Light fan’s ability to quickly eliminate viruses from the air and distribute clean air into the room, while keeping people in the room is what makes this new invention ground-breaking.

Leading in the fight to improve indoor climate

“In a country like Denmark, which is known as a leader in wind turbines, it is only natural that we should also take the lead in climate-friendly ceiling-mounted fans. Northern Light™ ensures better energy utilisation, reduces CO2 emissions, improves indoor climate and eliminates airborne bacteria and viruses.” Dennis Thomsen concludes.