UV Lights & Air Filtration in Nanaimo & Vancouver Island
P3 Mechanical & Electrical installs UV-C lamps and upgraded air filtration on furnaces, air handlers, and heat pumps across Nanaimo and central Vancouver Island. A lamp fitted to an existing system is usually a single short visit; a deeper filter cabinet that needs sheet metal modified costs more and takes longer, and either way the figure comes from a written quote once we have seen the equipment.
What UV does, and what filtration does
UV-C light is genuinely good at one job: keeping the wet parts of a system clean. An evaporator coil and its drain pan sit dark and damp for months at a time, which is exactly the surface mould and biofilm colonise, and a lamp aimed at that coil shines on it continuously — the exposure is measured in months rather than in moments. A clean coil keeps airflow up, keeps the drain running, and takes away the musty smell most people first notice when the cooling season starts.
What UV does not do is filter. Air moving through a duct passes a lamp in a fraction of a second, so an in-duct lamp treats the air stream far less effectively than the advertising suggests, and no lamp of any size removes a particle. Smoke, dust, pollen, and pet dander are caught by a filter or they are not caught at all — which on this coast matters most in a wildfire summer, when what is coming through the wall is fine particulate. Lamp choice matters too: some ultraviolet lamps generate ozone, which is itself a lung irritant, and those have no business in a house. We will say plainly which of the two your complaint calls for, and it is often only one of them.
What's included
- Coil and drain pan UV-C lamps, mounted where they light the wet surface continuously
- In-duct lamps only where a return-air application genuinely makes sense, with the limits explained first
- Ozone-free lamp selection, so nothing is added to the air in order to treat it
- Higher-efficiency media filtration matched to what the blower can actually pull air through
- A deeper filter cabinet where a one-inch slot cannot take a better filter without choking the system
- Lamp and filter replacement intervals, with the sizes written on the equipment so the next order is simple
- Airflow re-checked after the change, because a better filter that starves the system helps nobody
Pricing & what's covered
Free estimate
We price the job after an in-home visit, once someone has seen what's there.
- One-year warranty on our labour. Equipment and parts are covered separately, under the supplier's or manufacturer's own warranty.
- We'll go over licensing and equipment with you at the visit.
How it works
Describe the complaint — a smell, visible growth on the coil, allergy symptoms, or smoke getting in are four different problems with four different answers.
Look at the equipment — coil and drain pan condition, filter slot depth, and what resistance the blower is already working against.
Recommend and quote — UV where a wet surface needs it, filtration where particles are the issue, in writing either way.
Install and verify — lamp fitted and powered, filter fitted, airflow re-checked, and the replacement date marked on the unit.
Frequently asked questions
Does a UV light in my furnace actually do anything?
Aimed at the evaporator coil and drain pan, yes — it keeps the damp surface where mould and biofilm grow clean, which protects airflow and removes a musty smell at its source. Mounted in a duct to treat passing air it does much less, because the air is only in front of the lamp for a fraction of a second.
Will a UV light help with wildfire smoke?
No. Smoke is fine particulate, and ultraviolet light does not remove particles of any size. What helps is filtration — a higher-efficiency filter the system can still breathe through, a deeper filter cabinet, or an HRV with a filtered intake — along with keeping the windows shut on the bad days.
Do UV lamps produce ozone?
Some types do, and those are worth avoiding: ozone is a lung irritant, so adding it to indoor air in order to treat indoor air is a poor trade. Lamps are made in ozone-free versions, and that is what belongs in a home system.
Can I just fit a better filter instead of a UV lamp?
Often, yes — and for dust, pollen, and smoke a filter is the right answer regardless. The limit is airflow: a denser filter dropped into a shallow slot can starve the blower and cost you more in comfort and efficiency than it gains in air quality, which is why a deeper cabinet is usually part of that upgrade.
How often does a UV lamp need replacing?
Lamps are normally changed on an annual schedule, because ultraviolet output falls away well before the lamp stops glowing — one that still looks lit can be doing very little. We note the size and the date on the equipment so the next one is a simple reorder rather than a service call.
How much does a UV light installation cost?
We publish no figure for it, but a coil lamp on a system that is already there is usually a single short visit. Adding a deeper filter cabinet at the same time costs more, because that is sheet metal work rather than a mounting. The work carries a one-year warranty on our labour, with the lamp and its ballast covered by the manufacturer.
Ready to get it fixed?
Call now, or send us the details online and we'll follow up.