Not only suction of cooking fumes and steams. The kitchen hood aims at becoming the household appliance able to grant the quality and the hygiene of indoor air through purification processes. This is the target of Franke, hit with Mythos Air Hub range, which integrates the functions of air purification and sanitization through the action of lamps with ultraviolet UV-C rays. “Besides eliminating cooking steams and smells as it happens with conventional hoods, the Air Hub technology installed on Mythos Air Hub hoods neutralizes the polluting elements, reducing viruses and bacteria by even 99.99% due to the presence of two separate airflows and two UV-C lamps that make air clean, hygienic and odourless at home – explains Silvia Gamberoni, Head of Global Category Management Hoods of Franke Home Solutions –. Moreover, since they do not produce ozone, these hoods are safe and efficacious, as confirmed by laboratory analyses carried out by University of Siena”.
How do the two separate airflows act to assure the quality of the indoor air?
While flowing, air is treated by a UV-C reactor specifically engineered. Thanks to three different suction modalities, it is possible to find the best option for all requirements: the manual setup can be activated and deactivated when necessary, or to switch off automatically after 24 hours. The intensive modality operates with the highest sanitization speed in the shortest possible time. The Night option automatically switches on every night and provides for a longer cycle with the minimum noise level.
What are the components and the devices involved in these processes? Have they been designed from scratch for these functions?
The Air Hub system, designed during the initial pandemic period, has been fully developed from scratch by our R&D team, as well as its components. A sanitization system, combined with a conventional hood, this is the double soul of Air Hub, a product with double function and essential design that suits all furnishing styles with three functions Ceiling, Vertical and T-shape.
How was it born and what ambits has the collaboration with the University of Siena concerned?
The collaboration with the laboratory of Environmental Hygiene of the Department of Molecular Medicine and development and the laboratory of Bioengineering of the Department of Medical Biotechnologies of University of Siena was born to have an opinion by external technicians, obviously based on tests, to confirm the soundness and the efficacy of our product. The collaboration with the University, in particular, has led to size and to validate the air treatment system during its flowing through a specific UV-C reactor, by means of consolidated scientific evidences of literature, specific design simulations and executions of empiric tests, to provide a suitable air treatment able to assure a bacteria elimination up to 99.99%. Tests have been carried out on E. Coli ATCC 8739 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300.
