We first note that the UV output for the product is 0.9 watts per foot. Based on our estimated UV light needs of 1 W per 100 sqft, we determine that we will need 2 W for our 200 sqft area (multiply by 2x). Because UV energy has unique interactions with many different materials, UV curing allows for the creation of products with characteristics not achievable via other means. This has led to UV curing becoming fundamental in many fields of manufacturing and technology, where changes in strength, hardness, durability, chemical resistance, and many other properties are required. Mike Phillips (2007-09-25). "Eikone.com". Eikone.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06 . Retrieved 2011-11-08.

However, there are some reasons you may want to choose another wavelength. For UV LEDs, the general rule is that the shorter the wavelength, the higher the price. 395 nm UV LEDs, for example, are a common and relatively affordable option that provides decent levels of fluorescence at a more affordable price point. The type of UV radiation these light bulbs emit targets the DNA of microorganisms, causing cell death or making reproduction impossible. They’re certainly not the type of light bulbs to be used in the home. They’re mainly used in professional and industrial environments in processes such as:Have you ever been to a night club, halloween party, or disco and been amazed by how the white colors of people’s clothing stands out looking incredible – unnatural even? It is often referred to as ultraviolet ‘light,’ but UV is a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than visible light and longer than X-rays. These lamps are used mainly for theatrical purposes and concert displays. They are more efficient UVA producers per unit of power consumption than fluorescent tubes.

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. In this case, we are measuring the amount of light energy emitted in the UV wavelengths. All electromagnetic waves are measured in metres, but some wavelengths (like UV) are so small that they’re measured in nanometres (nm). You will often see product descriptions on Lightbulbs Direct reference the ‘nm’ range of the lamp because it directly affects what type of light bulb it is.

Types of Black Lights

Fluorescent: Comes with various lamp base sizes for regular lamp holders as well as in tube form. Reasonably power efficient with a long lifespan. Le, Tao; Krause, Kendall (2008). First Aid for the Basic Sciences—General Principles. McGraw-Hill Medical. Fluorescent materials are also very widely used in numerous applications in molecular biology, often as "tags" which bind themselves to a substance of interest (for example, DNA), so allowing their visualization. These UV lamps have the shortest UV wavelengths, meaning they could be potentially harmful to human skin. Germicidal UV light bulbs are available as tubes, with the tube colour usually being transparent. They should be used by professionals and in industrial environments for:

One of the innovations for night and all-weather flying used by the US, UK, Japan and Germany during World War II was the use of UV interior lighting to illuminate the instrument panel, giving a safer alternative to the radium-painted instrument faces and pointers, and an intensity that could be varied easily and without visible illumination that would give away an aircraft's position. This went so far as to include the printing of charts that were marked in UV-fluorescent inks, and the provision of UV-visible pencils and slide rules such as the E6B. UV light can be used to harden particular glues, resins and inks by causing a photochemical reaction inside those substances. This process of hardening is called ‘curing’. UV curing is adaptable to printing, coating, decorating, stereolithography, and in the assembly of a variety of products and materials. In comparison to other technologies, curing with UV energy may be considered a low-temperature process, a high-speed process, and is a solventless process, as cure occurs via direct polymerization rather than by evaporation. Originally introduced in the 1960s, this technology has streamlined and increased automation in many industries in the manufacturing sector. A primary advantage of curing with ultraviolet light is the speed at which a material can be processed. Speeding up the curing or drying step in a process can reduce flaws and errors by decreasing time that an ink or coating spends wet. This can increase the quality of a finished item, and potentially allow for greater consistency. Another benefit to decreasing manufacturing time is that less space needs to be devoted to storing items which can not be used until the drying step is finished. LED: Some Light Emitting Diodes also allow UV light to escape the phosphor coating over the LED chips that tune the visible light. Very efficient and long lasting with little to no heat generated.Miller, Larry S.; McEvoy Jr., Richard T. (2010). Police Photography (6thed.). Elsevier. p.202. ISBN 978-1-4377-5581-7. Archived from the original on 2013-05-26. Morales-Trujillo M. L.; Arenas R.; Arroyo S. (July 2008). "[Interdigital erythrasma: clinical, epidemiologic, and microbiologic findings]". Actas Dermosifiliogr (in Spanish). 99 (6): 469–73. doi: 10.1016/s1578-2190(08)70291-9. PMID 18558055. S2CID 22836457. [ permanent dead link] Tony Burns; Stephen Breathnach; Neil Cox; Christopher Griffiths (2010). Rook's Textbook of Dermatology. John Wiley and Sons. pp.5–. ISBN 978-1-4051-6169-5. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013 . Retrieved 14 November 2010. Bili light. A type of phototherapy that uses blue light with a range of 420–470 nm, used to treat neonatal jaundice. while the phosphor used to produce a peak around 350 to 353nanometres is lead-doped barium silicate ( BaSi