The underlying principle of UV-C lamp design has not changed much in over 50 years. However, the current production of these lamps is unsustainable longer term and new generation products are required. The market looks to LEDs for innovation because few people in the industry believe that anything else is possible, let alone effective. LEDs, although exciting, have ~1% efficiency at milliwatts energy input. Industrial applications are not viable from LEDs for many years to come. For this reason, a mercury-free medium pressure lamp is the UV holy grail – everyone seeks it, many have tried and failed. Eco-UV has demonstrated two technologies that offer this possibility, one of which is ready for commercialisation and is retrofittable to existing UV chambers.
In addition, the low pressure MS1 lamp and driver is an excellent stand-alone output of the project in its own right. In the last ten years, electronically-driven high-power amalgam lamps have been developed which have reached a feasible maximum power limit load of 800 W. At almost twice the power density, half the length and 20-25% higher efficiency than other LP lamps in the same marketspace, the MS1 lamp will be an attractive solution to buyers in many markets. It also has the potential to displace medium pressure lamps in certain markets, such as open channel water and waste water applications, offering with it a jump in efficiency from 13-15% up to >42% – a 70% energy saving.
Other benefits such as improvements to lamp characterisation methods, the beginnings of a harmonised test standard for system validation, and the establishment of a benchmark for the life cycle analysis of UV water treatment systems, will ensure that the positive impact of Eco-UV continues to be felt across the industry far into the future.
