Frequently Asked Questions about the Swordfish Whole Home Unit
27. Sep, 2010 
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In our previous post, we took a look at some of the most Frequently Asked Questions we receive about our Single Room Air Purifier, so this time around, naturally, we’re going to take a look at our most Frequently Asked Questions about our Whole Home Air Purifier
Where Do I install Swordfish?
Swordfish can be mounted on your return air duct where it will kill most of the micro-organisms passing the lamp, and they will be trapped in your replaceable dust/allergen furnace filter. You can also mount Swordfish above your Air Conditioning coil or Cooling Coil where it will kill 99.9% of the mold and bacteria growth there.
What is a cooling coil / return air duct and where are they?
Your forced air furnace has a return air duct and a supply duct. Air flows from your home return grids through the return duct to the blower and out over your cooling coil (should you have air conditioning) or heat exchanger.
Why use any purification at all?
Studies have shown that inadequate ventilation in homes causes indoor air to be up to 2-5x more polluted than outdoor air. With up to 65 million North Americans suffering from asthma (8 million children), allergies or other respiratory issues, these conditions can be triggered by molds, dust and other aggregates. (Studies have also shown that one gram of duct dust can contain up to 50,000 bacteria).
Swordfish™ eliminates the “triggers” in your indoor air which cause respiratory discomfort. Many studies have shown UV to be the most effective way of battling indoor air contaminants.
Where can I buy the Swordfish UV air treatment system?
Swordfish can be purchased at Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, TruServ (West only) and Federated Co-op (West only) stores, as well as on this site or at your local heating/air conditioning wholesaler. .
Why use UV Purification vs other types?
While there are various methods of purification or filtration on the market, UVC light actually deactivates the DNA/RNA of micro organisms rendering them harmless. Other models can only trap/filter micro organisms.
How can Swordfish help me?
Studies (Health Magazine) show one out of six people who suffer from allergies do so because of the direct relationship to fungi and bacteria in air duct systems. If you or your family, are one of these sufferers, studies show these conditions can be triggered by molds, dust and other indoor contaminants (Institute of Medicine). Swordfish can alleviate your symptoms by attacking your triggers such as dust mites, molds and bacteria. By reducing the impact of these triggers, Swordfish can alleviate the following: Asthsma, Allergies, Hay Fever, Fatigue, Insomnia, Dizziness, Depression, Headaches, shortneess-of-breath, coughing and wheezing.
What is the history of UV in air purification?
Swordfish is bringing air purification used in hospitals for years to homeowners. UV has been used for decades in hospitals and medical facilities, food and other commercial processing applications, irradiating surfaces and keeping indoor air germ, virus and mold free.
Has Swordfish been tested?
Swordfish has been tested extensively by Lighting Sciences Inc. at the University of Waterloo, to determine light output and estimated UVC dose taking into account the velocity of air and exposure time. Swordfish is CSA and UL Listed.
How effective is it?
Swordfish’s effect on common household micro organisms such as serratia marcescens results in an approximate single pass kill rate of up to 85%. Serratia Marcescens is a common trigger of respiratory illness.
How long is lamp life?
It is estimated 10.000 hours or approximately one year and two months however Swordfish notifies you when your lamp requires replacement (red light starts flashing). When the red light turns on you should replace the UV lamp.
Should I unplug the unit when the ventilation (air conditioning) is not working?
Swordfish can be used continually. We do not recommend to plug in and out the unit, as the UV light might get damaged.
Isn’t UVC light harmful?
You should never look directly at UVC light. Following the instructions inside the box will ensure correct usage.
Do Swordfish lamps produce Ozone?
Swordfish uses Philips Lamps. They are ozone free. (Studies have shown exposure to ozone can worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections (EPA)). Our lamps have no endcaps that block illumination and there will not result in “non-sterilized air pockets”. The Swordfish ballast has also been tested by Philips Lighting in the Netherlands. Our Philips lamp has been tested and performs at a broad range of normal air conditioning and heating temperatures and velocity.
Does it replace other air filters?
Swordfish can be used in conjunction with any existing air filter or purifier such as electronic filters, and HEPA filters. However, it requires only a high quality Dust & Pollen/Allergen filter to optain optimum performance.
