SafeTraces is a leader in sustainable indoor air quality, including technology-enabled performance testing of HVAC and air cleaning systems. The company provides the only indoor air quality verification that actively measures pathogen risk. Its patented aerosol tracing technology is backed by the first UL mark for verified ventilation and filtration. Recently, the company launched the first-ever aerosol-based commissioning service to measure and verify the germicidal impact of ultraviolet (UV-C) disinfectant lighting fixtures in commercial facilities. 

“We are on a relentless mission to ensure safe clean air for all, to decarbonize real estate, and to break scientific and technological barriers,” according to Erik Malmstrom, CEO of SafeTraces, which has had its headquarters at Hacienda since 2016. “UV-C is an incredibly promising product category for infection control and energy efficiency in buildings. But how well do these fixtures perform in real-world settings? Until now, we haven’t really known. However, SafeTraces’ UV-C fixture commissioning service will provide the answers.”

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, respiratory infections increased significantly with coronavirus becoming endemic in addition to influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Relative to pre-pandemic levels, the U.S. has experienced increased rates of death, hospitalization, and absenteeism, as well as negative impacts to worker productivity and student performance, collectively responsible for tens of billions of dollars of medical and economic costs annually.

‍ In response, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) published new performance guidelines and code-enforceable requirements in 2023 for the control of infectious aerosols via air ventilation, filtration, and air cleaning and disinfection. In response, SafeTraces developed a new, groundbreaking service in partnership with Aerosol Research and Engineering Laboratories (ARE Labs), a full-service engineering and testing laboratory specializing in aerosol science.

The new service is available for commercial use by building owner-operators, service providers, product manufacturers, and researchers. The aerosol-based commissioning service for UV-C fixtures consists of two components. Working with ARE Labs, SafeTraces now provides aerosol-based testing services for UV-C fixtures in test chambers based on requirements for ASHRAE Standard 241. In addition to using industry standard MS2 bacteriophage, testing will be also performed with SafeTraces’ DNA-tagged aerosol particles to quantify a fixture-specific scaling factor between the two methods for transferability to settings outside of a lab. In partnership with certified partners, SafeTraces is also providing a service for commissioning UV-C fixtures to their installed performance at facilities using SafeTraces’ DNA-tagged aerosol particles.

According to research studies, UV-C is highly effective for the inactivation of airborne pathogens and highly energy-efficient relative to other engineering controls. However, implementation of UV-C in public buildings has been under-utilized due to persistent market questions regarding real-world product efficacy, safety, and cost. Historically, germicidal efficacy testing of UV-C fixtures has been limited to controlled test chambers due to practical limitations regarding the use of biological aerosols in public buildings. Consequently, test results don’t always accurately approximate real world conditions that impact product performance including room-level air distribution, air supply and exhaust relationships, and dynamic building occupancy levels.

SafeTraces’ UV-C fixture commissioning service bridges the gap between test chamber and real-world testing. Developed with support from the National Institutes of Health, SafeTraces has developed safe, sterile DNA-tagged aerosol particles that mimic airborne pathogen behavior and response to inactivation dosages in order to serve as a challenge agent to HVAC systems, air cleaners, and now UV-C fixtures. This added capability to measure and verify the germicidal efficacy of UV-C fixtures in real world settings represents the latest breakthrough innovation in SafeTraces’ market-leading veriDART platform.

For more information about SafeTraces, please visit www.safetraces.com, www.linkedin.com/company/safetraces, or www.facebook.com/safetraces.