Shedding light on the problem: Influence of the radiator power, source-sample distance, and exposure time on the performance of UV-C lamps in laboratory and real-world conditions

Effective surface disinfection is crucial for preventing the spread of pathogens in hospitals. Standard UltraViolet-C (UV-C) lamps have been widely used for this purpose, but their disinfection efficiency under real-world conditions is not well understood. To fill this gap, the influence of the power of the ultraviolet radiator, source-sample distance, and exposure time on the performance of UV-C lamps against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis were experimentally determined in the laboratory and hospital. The obtained results showed that the UV irradiance and, thus, the UV-C disinfection efficiency decreased significantly at distances greater than 100 cm from the UV-C lamp. Moreover, increasing the total power of the radiators does not improve the performance of UV-C lamps under real conditions. The UV-C disinfection efficiency greater than 90% was achieved only under laboratory conditions at a close distance from the UV-C lamp, i.e., 10 cm. These findings provide novel insights into the limitations of UV-C lamps in real-world conditions and highlight the need for more effective disinfection strategies in hospitals.