Nukit Lantern Instructions

How to use your Nukit Lanterns

The Nukit Lantern is a 6 watt Far-UVC emitter designed for fixed installation. Far-UVC, or 222nm light, is unique in that it can inactivate airborne pathogens in rooms occupied by humans (and pets) without harming them. Far-UVC can also inactivate fomites - surface pathogens although the best data we currently have indicates airborne transmission to be far more common route of infection.

Height:

This sticker is on the back of each Lantern. Distance is your best tool for limiting exposure, and height is your best tool for creating distance between the Lantern and room occupants.

So long as the emitters are placed 2.5 meters high, and spaced at the recommended intervals, it is very difficult for any one person to be overexposed. They would have to stand in exactly one place for a very long time- far longer than it is comfortable to stand, staring directly upwards into the emitter.

If that same Far-UVC emitter were on a tabletop, at that duration and distance, excess eye exposure would become not just easy, but likely. So before anything else- all emitters must be kept at the recommended height.

Spacing:

The more widely distributed Far-UVC is, the safer and more powerful its germicidal effect. Far-UVC emitters often look like flashlights with reflectors to focus the beam. This encourages users to point them at things or people—like it's a sort of germ-killing raygun. In fact, they are most effective and safest when pointed at spaces—large, unobstructed volumes of air.

One unit for every 8-14 cubic meters (282-484 cubic feet) of room size is an effective and practical distribution of Lantern emitters for most homes. A densely occupied space, like a dining room or home-schooling pod, would benefit from more dense coverage of one Lantern per 8m3, while a hallway or bedroom with light traffic- 14m3 or less.

Each Lantern provides approximately 70º of horizontal coverage. Our goal is to maximize coverage while minimizing beam overlap. For practical purposes, this means it is usually best to place one Lantern, in each corner of a typical residential room, up near the ceiling, tilted slightly down.

Examples:

20m2 Livingroom Four Lanterns- Good protection
20m2 Livingroom Six Lanterns- Better protection
30m2 Microschool Homeschooling Pod Eight Lanterns- Good protection
30m2 Microschool Homeschooling Pod Ten Lanterns- Better protection
4m2 Bathroom One Lantern- Good protection

(Click to enlarge image)

Mounting

Once you have determined where your Lanterns will be positioned, you can attach the mounting brackets to the wall.

Standard photography dropped ceiling adapters can also be used- or even clamps and small tripods on high shelves- provided the height stays above 8.5 meters.

How It Works:

This video is a computational fluid dynamics model, it shows how four Lanterns, mounted in four corners, uses Germicidal Ultraviolet to inactivates pathogens in a 31m3 room:

This model is not an illustration- it takes the actual data from third party testing and presents it in an easy to visualize way- instead of rows of numbers, like a graph for a spreadsheet.

Air Mixing:

Germicidal Ultraviolet (GUV) like the Nukit Lantern, does not rely on blanketing the entire room with UV light. Instead, the modest amount of air circulation present in nearly all rooms moves suspended pathogens through the Lantern's UV field, allowing it to disinfect the entire room within a few minutes, while staying within safe power levels.

One easy way to amplify the disinfecting power of the Lanterns by up to 30% is to supplement this ambient air mixing with a simple oscillating or ceiling fan set on low.

Here is another CFD model, it shows the actual performance difference both with and without a slow fan:

The fan does not need to be on a high setting, it takes very little to provide optimal air mixing.
Influence of ceiling fan's speed and direction on efficacy of upperroom, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation: Experimental

Electrical:

Each Nukit Lantern runs on 12v DC and draws about 500mA while in use. It is supplied via an included dual-voltage power supply with a 2-meter-long cable. That can be increased with the included 3-meter extension cable to a total of 5-meters.

Sensor:

The included mmWave human presence sensor goes in between the power supply cable, and the extension cable. mmWave is a form of radar and far more sensitive than the typical passive infrared (PIR) sensors you may be acustomed to.

Pressing the "A" button once allows you to use the sensor as a simple on/off wired remote.
Pressing and holding the "C" button puts you into sensing mode. By tapping the C button, you can change the trigger delay. While you are configuring the sensor, set it to 15s (seconds) and point it at the center of the room. Increase the time duration until the Lantern never goes off if you are in the room.

Before attaching the sensor with the included screw or self-adhesive tape, consider using crafting putty to determine optimal sensor positioning where it is not set off by other moving objects in the room (fans, etc)

You can use one sensor to control more than one Lantern with a simple Y-connector. Or remove the sensor entirely if you prefer to control the lights with HomeKit, Google Home, or another third-party IOT solution.

3D Printed Accessories:

We have a varienty of fun covers available for free download that you can 3D print and snap onto the front of your Nukit Lanterns to give them a more whisical appearance. Templates are included so you can easily make your own.

There is also a flush mount box available for download that will enable clean installation in flat surfaces. If you don't have a printer, it can be printed at JLC3DP.

Education:

If people see what appears to be UV, and feel unsafe, they will unplug or otherwise tamper with the devices. We are ambassadors and evangelists of this technology and need to convert the public into enthusiasts who understand they are much safer in the presence of Far-UVC than in a room without it.

As much time as is required should be allocated to educate and reassure anyone, of any station, that they are safe and answer any questions they have. We want them to understand that Far-UVC keeps them safer and means they get sick less often.

You can download a this sign, print, and display it where it is convenient: