Healthe adds far UV-C to elevators at Tennessee seniors’ community

True to its emphasis on sanitization products, lighting company Healthe Inc. has equipped elevators in a new Tennessee seniors’ home with fittings that emit ultraviolet radiation in the far UV-C portion of the UV-C band.

Orlando-based Healthe has installed its Healthe Cleanse fittings in the elevators at The Capstone at Station Camp in Gallatin, TN, where operator Integral Senior Living (ISL) provides assisted living and memory care. ISL is owned by Kansas City real estate firm Hunt Midwest, in turn owned by the Lamar Hunt family which includes professional football team the Kansas City Chiefs among its holdings.

UV-C at certain frequencies and certain doses has been proven to deactivate SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Ranging from 100–280 nm, UV-C is the shortest wavelength portion of the ultraviolet spectrum.

Healthe’s Cleanse emits at 222 nm, a segment considered to be “far UV-C.” It is a shorter wavelength than the 265-nm UV-C that Healthe has installed in a Miami Dolphins locker room and the 254-nm common in other vendors’ UV-C products.

While UV-C is harmful to skin and eyes, far UV-C is generally considered to be safer with less need to shield it from humans, although more research is needed. But it is generally more expensive. Healthe is using excimer technology for its 222-nm products, as opposed to the LEDs it installs in its 265-nm product. In 254-nm format, mercury vapor is common.

Healthe’s other 222-nm products include a decorative model called Healthe Space, in use at some restaurants and retailers; Healthe Entry, a portal for entering buildings or areas; and Wand Pro, a handheld device transported on a wheeled trolley and designed for tight surfaces such as in airplanes — Healthe makes Wand Pro under license from Boeing Corp.

Privately-held Healthe also offers circadian lighting products but has shifted its emphasis to sanitization amid the COVID pandemic. It is positioning its disinfection products not only against the coronavirus but also as a means to mitigate SARS, MERS, E. coli, and other pathogens.

The company hopes that its relatively new minority owner Stephen Ross and his real estate giant Related Companies can help open doors to installations in commercial properties.

It is trying to make its mark amid management churn. The company recently replaced former CEO Kim Lee with food and beverage veteran Gerard Meyer. LEDs has reason to believe that Healthe has experienced more top-level comings and goings since the Meyer appointment. We will bring you more on that story as we get it.

Healthe is also engaged in a far UV-C patent dispute with Far-UV Sterilray of Somersworth, NH.

MARK HALPER is a contributing editor for LEDs Magazine, and an energy, technology, and business journalist ([email protected]).

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