UV LED blacklights, on the other hand, have improved efficiency values of 15-25%. In other words, for every 100 Watts of electrical energy consumed, the blacklight will emit 5-15W of useful UV light energy. If not, you may have to use some rough efficiency estimates.Īs a rough ballpark estimate, fluorescent blacklights have an efficiency value of 5-15%. If a product lists the amount of UV light output in watts, you can use this value directly to estimate your UV light needs for a space. It could be a great, efficient light emitting 10 watts of UV (25% efficiency), or a terrible light with 1 watt of UV (2.5%) - we just don't know from the 40 watts power consumption alone. For example, you may find a product described as a 40 Watt UV blacklight, but unfortunately all this means is that the lamp consumes 40 watts of electrical energy - this does not provide us with any information about its efficiency, and how much actual UV light energy is produced.
Unfortunately, most manufacturers do not list the UV light output, and instead simply indicate the electrical watts input.
But as is the case with household light bulbs, what matters most is the amount of light energy produced. 60 Watts), we are most accustomed to describing UV light bulb power in terms of its electrical energy consumption. IMPORTANT: electrical watts does not equal UV light watts! As with regular household light bulbs (e.g. For a 200 sq ft area, simply multiply the target UV levels by 2x for an estimated 2 watts of UV light energy needed. In this case, we are measuring the amount of light energy emitted in the UV wavelengths.įor most basic applications, 1 watt of UV light energy output is sufficient to create strong fluorescence effects over a 100 sq ft area. What is a "watt" of UV light? Watts are simply units of energy, and as you may recall from your introductory physics classes, energy can exist in a variety of forms - for example, electrical, kinetic, chemical, or light energy. For UV lights, the most accurate metric is "watts" of UV light output. Although lumens is typically the metric used to measure the amount of visible light, because ultraviolet light is invisible, this metric is essentially useless. UV blacklight "brightness" is a difficult metric to describe, because UV light energy is not directly visible. It may not appear like much, but the dim light you see is just a small fraction of the actual UV light energy hitting your eyes. Do not, for example, look directly into a UV LED blacklight when it is turned on, even if it does not appear bright. The amount and intensity of UV-A light energy emitted by blacklights is generally below dangerous levels, but be aware that the UV light energy emitted by the lamps is invisible. WARNING: Always use common sense and observe safety around the use of UV lights. Below, we discuss 4 questions you should consider before purchasing a UV blacklight. Generally, this means that a blacklight will emit primarily UV-A radiation, and very little visible light. Unlike regular white light bulbs, UV blacklights are unique in that they primarily emit ultraviolet radiation as opposed to visible light, and as a result, there are some additional factors you will want to consider before making a purchase.īlacklights are most commonly used when the fluorescence of objects needs to be observed, with as little visible light as possible. UV blacklights are great devices with a wide range of applications in the arts, industry, and scientific research.
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