Is something like that just not practical/possible or has it just not been seen as a priority prior to our current situation?
Is something like that just not practical/possible or has it just not been seen as a priority prior to our current situation?
1. UV light capable of sterilization destroys or degrades most materials very quickly, worse than leaving it out in the sun.
2. UV lights tend to be very energy-expensive, and there is not much advancement in green tech to mitigate that, unlike visible LEDs and such.
3. Damage to peoples eyes and skin, means you must have interlock systems to make sure nobody is around.
4. UV light will not sanitize something it does not directly shine on. Any shadow is a gap. An indoor space would have to be engineered in a certain way, not even postmodern architects would like it.
The only profitable UV sanitizers I ever see are in the medical/dental field anyway, used for autoclaving things. They do have UV rooms for things like hazmat suits, but they tend to be the domain of industrial accident response, EPA or FEMA types. Again, the power they require, and the grade of radiation they give off, they are too hazardous to allow ordinary people to be near them when operating.