Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world has learned a lot more than they ever thought they would about health, hygiene, and viruses, while those who already knew a lot – the doctors, nurses, and food-handlers – have doubled down and added to their regular practices.

But while everyone is reaching down for the disinfectant spray, alcohol wipes and hand sanitiser (which we believe is now referred to officially as “sanny” in Australia now), one Aussie company believes the future of virus control might just be above us.

Brightgreen is a lighting design company located in Cremorne, Victoria, and is in the final stages of engineering UV-C lights to combat COVID-19 transmission rates. UV-C rays have long been used for disinfection purposes in medical services, but the company has designed a viable solution that could be implemented in schools and facilities to create safe environments and to keep doors open.

“UV-C is well established in medical practice as a way to eradicate viruses. The challenge is to keep it safe and economical,” said Brightgreen’s Head of Engineering, Nathan Moffat.

“As the UV-C rays can be harmful to humans, the Brightgreen system sets itself apart by using presence monitors. Disinfection will not begin until the room is empty. The smart technology in Brightgreen’s system detects all presences, whether a person is doing jumping jacks or sound asleep.

“Brightgreen is in the final stages of engineering the lights that will have dual light spectrums. This will enable the lights to be switched between standard visual lighting and germicidal rays. The system will be fully automated to run overnight for a full disinfection with shorter daytime options when the space is empty.

Brightgreen CEO, David O’Driscoll, said, “We will make the designs for this system open source, so other manufacturers can tool up to increase the speed to market with this high-impact system.

“There’s no clear indication of how long this pandemic will last. In the meantime, sustainable solutions to work around it may be the answer.”