Estimate the installed, electricity, lamp replacement, first-year, and five-year costs of a coil-treatment or in-duct HVAC UV light.
Your cost estimate
Table of contents
How to use our HVAC UV Light Installation and Operating Cost Calculator
- Choose UV light type and match it to the contractor proposal: coil treatment or in-duct air treatment.
- Choose how the quote is listed, then enter either Installed price or both UV equipment cost and Installation labor.
- Copy the Number of UV lamps and Power per lamp from the product label or manual.
- Enter the operating schedule, utility Electricity rate, and lamp replacement details. Replace planning defaults when your manual or bill gives a different value.
- Calculate, then check that the displayed UV light type and UV-only upfront cost match the proposal before using the first-year or five-year estimate.
Definitions
Coil treatment: A UV light aimed at the indoor evaporator coil area.
In-duct air treatment: A UV light installed in the moving-air path inside HVAC ductwork or an air handler.
Watt (W): A measure of electrical power. Power per lamp is multiplied by lamp count and operating time.
Kilowatt-hour (kWh): A unit of electrical energy used for utility billing. One kWh equals using 1,000 watts for one hour.
Electricity rate: The usage charge for electricity, entered in cents per kWh. It does not include an unchanged fixed monthly utility charge.
Annual lamp replacement reserve: A yearly budget amount for replacement lamp parts and optional technician service, spread across the entered replacement time.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
Mistake: Entering the full monthly utility bill as the Electricity rate.
Fix: Enter only the energy charge in cents per kWh from the bill or utility rate page.
Mistake: Using a UV output rating for Power per lamp.
Fix: Use the electrical watts shown on the product label, power supply, or manual.
Mistake: Counting a spare lamp in Number of UV lamps.
Fix: Count only lamps that operate in the system at the same time.
Mistake: Leaving Other work included in quote at $0 when the quote also includes coil cleaning, filters, or duct repair.
Fix: Enter the subtotal for non-UV work so UV-only upfront installed cost is easier to compare.
Mistake: Assuming a lamp lasts until it stops producing visible light.
Fix: Set Lamp replacement time from the product manual and enter the matching Replacement lamp cost.
Limitations & Key Assumptions / Boundary Conditions
- This is a cost estimate, not a quote. It uses the prices, lamp details, schedule, and electricity rate you enter.
- The UV light type labels the installation context but does not automatically change equipment or labor pricing.
- The 5-year estimate holds electricity rates, lamp prices, service labor, and operating schedule constant in nominal dollars.
- Lamp maintenance is annualized. Actual replacement payments can happen earlier or later than the yearly reserve.
- The electricity estimate excludes fixed utility customer charges because adding a UV light normally does not change them.
- Enter other bundled work only when it is truly non-UV work. That amount cannot be greater than the selected installed price.
- This calculator estimates ownership cost only. It does not estimate germicidal performance, indoor-air quality changes, health effects, HVAC repair savings, or energy savings elsewhere in the system.
Methodology
Cost calculation
The calculator uses the all-in installed price or adds UV equipment cost and installation labor, depending on the quote format. It then subtracts other work included in quote to isolate the UV portion.
UV-only upfront cost = selected installed price - other work included in quote
Total electrical power is lamp count times power per lamp. Dividing by 1,000 changes watts to kilowatts.
Annual electricity use (kWh) = number of UV lamps x power per lamp (W) / 1000 x operating time (hours per day) x operating days per year
Annual electricity cost = annual electricity use (kWh) x electricity rate (cents per kWh) / 100
The default electricity rate is 17.30 cents per kWh, a US residential planning value that should be replaced with the energy rate on your bill. [1]
Annual lamp replacement reserve = (number of UV lamps x replacement lamp cost + service labor per lamp change) x 12 / lamp replacement time
Annual operating and maintenance cost = annual electricity cost + annual lamp replacement reserve
Estimated first-year UV ownership cost = UV-only upfront installed cost + annual operating and maintenance cost
Estimated 5-year UV ownership cost = UV-only upfront installed cost + 5 x annual operating and maintenance cost
Mini-example
For one 25 W lamp running 24 hours per day for 365 days, annual electricity use is 219 kWh. At 17.30 cents per kWh, annual electricity cost is $37.89. If a $100 lamp is replaced every 12 months with no service charge, annual operating and maintenance cost is $137.89.
Calculation choices
Replacement parts and service are spread into an annual reserve instead of placed on a specific calendar date. The calculation allows zero operating hours or days, which makes electricity use zero but does not remove installation or planned lamp replacement costs.