I’d like to know what company is trying to scam you so I don’t use them.

These 100% work! Although it depends on mold type as well as where installed. I did HVAC for many years and these became very popular during COVID. I have two installed in my heat pump system at home in MA. Please note, Although the UV lamp will bill certain types of bacteria and mold, it can only kill via line of site. Meaning anywhere the UV light does shine on, ie. where there’s a shadow when light is on, or other side of evaporator coil. My daughter gets symptoms for allergies every year, since I installed the UV lamp, they are Minimal at best.
If there is slight mold, another option is spraying coil cleaner (not bleach) onto the coils then rinse with water. This is a much less expensive option but does not kill any bacteria floating thru the air as it passes thru coil.

Even if the light kills some mold on the coils, the salespeople for these lights claim that it purifies the air as it flows through the air handler, and provides better air for the entire house. In my opinion, this claim is totally bogus. The system is definitely not worth spending thousands of dollars for, especially if you expect one light bulb to treat the air in your entire house.

What color was the "mold"? A common problem in Florida is Zooglea, a bacteria that builds a white sticky mess that can clog the water drain. Getting the line flushed is a messy job, probably required a wet-vac with a way to connect it to you exterior drain.

UV is supposed to help. Aluminum lines in the coil instead of copper is supposedly a contributing factor.

We just had our maintenance done also, this is the third year they have been trying to sell us this system, we are also on the fence about it.

Probably, but if you only spray it to kill the mold and immediately rinse it off, it may not damage the coils. I would prefer to use the spray chemical that is specifically designed to clean the coil. But spending thousands of dollars for a UV light bulb seems unnecessary to me.

We have one installed, during covid, the first year after we bought the house.
Don't remember the cost,

we aren't penny pinchers about healthy foods,
know that hospitals use UV light to sterilize equipment, including covid masks,
being older we are more susceptible to getting sick,
if there was an extended air conditioner outage, it would take a little longer for the mold to start growing in the house.
we are more proactive with breathing recirculated air all day.
Safety or decreased risk, in whatever form, takes time and/or money, can't get around it


It's your money, its your comfort level, do some reading about the effectiveness, and then make a decision you feel comfortable about. No one cares about how you spend your money, only you do.

My HVAC maintenance company installed one in the duct above the HVAC unit. He showed my a photo he said showed the duct covered with black mold. I couldn’t read the photo. It cost me $3,500. Whether or not it works, I don’t know.

In a previous home, I had a well that had some e-coli contamination, and that was fixed with a UV light. That was a light tube close to 3 feet long that ran inside a stainless steel tube. There was perhaps a quarter inch between the light tube and the stainless steel tube. All the water ran through that space and was immediately sterilized. Then it went through a filter. The light tube had to be replaced yearly, and a buzzer went off when the year was past. The UV light I had installed here covers a much bigger area of air. It may not kill every mold spore going through the duct, but only the ones that are close enough. But it runs whenever the system runs, and the air recirculates, so it should gradually cut down the number of spores over a couple weeks and keep catching any that come through. But was I crazy? A sucker? Probably.

Sunshine just serviced my HVAC unit and recommended.

Uv?
 

UV is good, and will kill germs - but a better option is an ionizer; both will kill germs (and CoVid) - but an ionizer will kill covid on surfaces, while UV will only kill what’s in the airflow.
Did this for a critical facility I ran during the pandemic - no employee covid due to building conditions.

NO BLEACH in the AC unless you want a new unit in 6 months. Highly corrosive to aluminum coils.

So, if the technician says that there is mold in virtually all Villages HVAC units, should every homeowner spend thousands of dollars to install a UV light?

Welcome to TOTV, you must be new here.

;)

Go for it. Weve had one gor seversl years. Or a replacement (the are good for 2 years). Before the UV light, our air filter was all black. We were breathing that stuff. After the lights were installed, the filter was only a little black. What a difference it made. Replacement bulbs are $100 when bought on line.

Have it installed because they are worth it. They can last one to three years. There is a "window" that shows you when it is lite and functional. They are easy to replace yourself. Go online and you can buy them for $20 to $30 dollars.