UV-C based air purifier youvee® with integrated CO2 sensor eliminates corona viruses and monitors the quality of the room air

“Carbon dioxide can lead to a lack of concentration and attention, loss of performance, fatigue and headaches. People themselves do not perceive high CO2 concentrations in the room air and usually attribute the resulting lack of concentration to themselves,” explains Dr.-Ing. Max Mertins, Chief Technology Officer at youvee GmbH. "The high-quality integrated CO2 sensor in our air purifier closes this gap in perception and gives the user an indication via an optical signal or via the youvee app when the room should be ventilated again."

“The regulation of the volume flow can be switched to a CO2-controlled mode. The more people there are in the room, the higher the CO2 concentration and the associated potential virus load. On the one hand, youvee automatically reacts to this increasing virus risks with a correspondingly higher air purification rate. On the other hand, it saves fan power if the room is not used. In this way, maximum protection against indoor air contaminated with viruses is perfectly combined with minimized operating costs,” adds Dr. Mertins.

One youvee® cleans 835 m3 of room air per hour. This corresponds to six times the air change of a 50m2 room or the air consumption of eight people. The air purifier is currently used for air disinfection and protection against corona infections in offices, law firms, medical practices, clinics, nursing homes, schools, and kindergartens. The youvee® air purifier was developed by Karlsruhe engineers, is "Made in Germany" and CE-certified. All devices are manufactured in Karlsruhe. The current delivery time is 10 days. You can find more information on the website at www.youvee.de.

How does youvee® work?

Viruses like the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen are released with tiny liquid particles so called aerosols when speaking, coughing or sneezing. Heat sources such as electrical devices, radiators and, above all, humans create an air flow that rises due to the lower density of warm air. The viruses adhering to aerosols are on the ceiling within a few seconds, from there they are distributed throughout the room and fall back down on cooler external components. The room air is therefore constantly mixed and the risk of Covid-19 infections by corona aerosols is particularly given at head level, as the air masses rising from the floor and falling from the ceiling meet there.

UV-C radiation

youvee® uses the principle of UV-C disinfection. UV-C light is a proven, highly effective disinfection method that is used, for example, in operating theaters, intensive care rooms and in the food industry. With youvee®, highly efficient UV-C fluorescent tubes and an intelligently arranged UV-C radiation reflector ensure the neutralization of 99.9% of the viruses in the air passed through. The structure of the disinfection zone also uses UV-C filters to ensure that UV-C radiation cannot reach the outside in a dangerous manner.

Effective air flow

youvee® makes use of the natural air movement in the interior: the exhaled air rises to the ceiling area, whence it is extracted, cleaned of corona and other viruses and – unlike other air purifiers – anew distributed on the floor. The resulting sterile air lake boosts the buoyancy of the exhaled air and minimizes the amount of virus-contaminated air inhaled by other people and the risk of infection with Covid-19.

Integrated CO2 sensor

When the adjustable limit value in ppm (e.g. 1000 ppm) is exceeded, the air purifier gives an optical warning signal to recommend ventilation of the room. In addition, the CO2 concentration measurement enables youvee® to operate in automatic mode: the youvee® can be operated according to the current CO2 concentration thanks to the adjustable upper and lower limit values for CO2 concentration and fan output. The device thus reacts automatically to an increasing CO2 concentration – usually triggered by a higher room occupancy by people – with an increased supply of sterile air.