Central Photo Catalyst UV System
UV air purifier for every room, fitted to your furnace
Odors, VOCs, and the gases off cleaning products are molecules - too small for any filter to strain out. This treats them instead. Two germicidal UV-C lamps activate a photocatalytic coating inside your duct work, oxidizing what passes through into water vapor and carbon dioxide. No fan, no filter, nothing added to your furnace’s airflow.
Already have one of these? Lamps and service →
Why a filter cannot catch a smell
Filtration works by size. A filter is a barrier with holes in it, and anything bigger than the holes gets stopped - dust, pollen, dander, smoke particles. That is why a good HEPA does so much for a dusty house. But a smell is not a particle. Cooking odors, pet odors, the fumes off fresh paint and the VOCs from cleaning products are individual molecules, orders of magnitude smaller than anything a filter can hold. They pass straight through and keep circulating.
So this does not try to catch them. It breaks them apart instead. UV-C light activates a photocatalytic coating inside the chamber, and the reaction at that surface oxidizes what reaches it - leaving water vapor and carbon dioxide rather than a filter that needs emptying. It is the half of the job filtration cannot do, which is why the two are usually fitted together.
How it Works
Three steps, in order
The air is drawn past the reactor
Contaminants riding the return air — bacteria, mold spores, VOCs, the molecules behind cooking and pet odors — pass into the treatment chamber on their way to the furnace. No fan, no filter media, nothing added to the airflow.
UV-C light super-activates the coating
Two germicidal lamps flood the chamber, and a refraction plate spreads the light so it reaches the photocatalytic coating on every surface rather than only what passes directly in front of a bulb.
Oxidation breaks the contaminants down
The activated coating oxidizes what reaches it, reducing airborne contaminants to water vapor and carbon dioxide. Nothing is collected, so there is no filter to fill up.
Where this one is the right choice
Filtration and UV do different halves of the job. This is the half that deals with what you can smell rather than what you can see.
- Odors are the problem — cooking, pets, smoke, damp
- You already have filtration and want the part filters cannot catch
- VOCs from cleaning products, new furniture, or renovations
- Mold growth on the coil or inside the ductwork
- You want nothing added to your furnace’s airflow
- A clinic, salon, or office where odor control matters
How it compares to the other UV system we fit
Both use UV-C with photocatalytic oxidation, and both are duct-mounted. The difference is what else is in the box.
RPS PUV System
Two lamp assemblies, each a double tube — which is why you will sometimes see this described as a four-lamp system. More UV output through a bigger treatment chamber. Lamps are replaced yearly.
Platinum PURE
A single lamp in a smaller body, designed to sit above the A-coil and needing a much smaller opening cut into the ductwork. Lamps run two or three years depending on which is fitted.
Neither captures a particle. Where dust, pollen, and dander are the concern, a UV system is usually paired with the RPS Whole Home HEPA or the Platinum TrueHEPA - or the MedicAir® Pro, which does both jobs in one portable cabinet.
Specifications
RPS Central Photo Catalyst UV System
| Model | PUV48 |
| Technology | Germicidal UV-C combined with photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) |
| Lamps | Two UV lamps, 24 W each — 48 W total |
| Lamp size | 31.7 cm × 3.8 cm |
| UV output | 2,400 / 4,800 microwatts |
| Reactor | Photocatalytic coating throughout the chamber, with a refraction plate to spread the light |
| Ozone | None — the system is ozone-free |
| By-products | Contaminants are reduced to water vapor and carbon dioxide |
| Mounting plate | 40.5 cm × 20.0 cm, sitting 22.9 cm proud of the duct |
| Space required inside the duct | 14.5 cm H × 17.0 cm D |
| Orientation | Perpendicular to the airflow so the air passes the lamps first. Return or supply side — supply side can be more effective |
| Weight | 11 lb (5.0 kg) complete |
| Electrical | 120 V, 60 Hz. UL-listed electronic ballast, 9 ft three-prong cord, 125 Vac 2 A fuse |
| Effect on the furnace | None. No fan and no filter media, so nothing is added to the airflow |
| Lamp replacement | Yearly |
| Warranty | 10-year parts excluding the lamps, plus lifetime service, lifetime trade-in, and fire-protection coverage |
Backed by a lifetime service warranty, a lifetime trade-in allowance, and fire-protection coverage. Conditions apply — ask us for the full warranty terms.
UV lamps are stocked. Tell us the model and we will get the right ones to you, or fit them on a service visit.
Is this the box on your ductwork?
A lot of people inherit one of these with the house and have no idea what it is or who made it. If this matches what is in your basement, you have an RPS Central Photo Catalyst UV System - and we stock filters for it.
Already have one?
- A slim black control box mounted on the side of the ductwork, not inside it
- An RPS logo with “Central Photo Catalyst UV” printed underneath
- A blue OPERATING light and a green POWER light on the face
- Two small pinholes labelled UV INDICATOR LIGHT — L and R, one per lamp
- A rocker ON/OFF switch and a fuse marked 125Vac, 2A
- A bilingual UV hazard warning across the bottom of the panel
Germicidal UV-C lamp
Replaced yearly. The L pinhole on the panel is lit while it is working — if that pinhole is dark, this is the lamp to change.
Germicidal UV-C lamp
Replaced yearly, same as the left. Both pinholes should be lit whenever the POWER light is green.
Photocatalytic coating
Not a consumable. The coating is activated by the lamps rather than used up, so there is nothing here to replace.
or call (519) 686-3595 with the model
Common questions
-
It fits any central forced-air system, vertical or horizontal, and installs into the ductwork or the air handler. It has no fan and no filter media, so it adds nothing to the airflow your furnace has to move.
-
No. Filtration removes what UV cannot, and UV treats what filtration cannot. A home that wants both ends up with one of each, which is why we often fit this alongside the RPS Whole Home HEPA.
-
Not in normal use - the lamps are sealed inside the ductwork, and there is nothing to see from outside. The panel carries a warning because the power should always be unplugged before any service work, which is what the indicator lights are for.
-
There is no filter to change. The two UV lamps are the only consumable, and the indicator pinholes on the panel tell you at a glance whether both are still lit. We check the unit on an annual service visit.
-
A filter catches particles by size. Odors, VOCs, and the gases that come off cleaning products or new furniture are molecules - far too small to be caught that way. UV-C and PCO treat those instead of trying to strain them out, which is why a HEPA and a UV system do different jobs.
-
No. The system is ozone-free. What comes out the other side is water vapor and carbon dioxide.
-
That is the job it was built for. Cooking, pets, smoke, and damp all leave molecules in the air that pass straight through filters, and those are what oxidation breaks down.
-
Two 24 W lamps, so under 50 W with the unit running - less than a single old-style light bulb. There is no fan and no motor, which is where most of the draw would otherwise be.
Not sure whether you need UV, filtration, or both?
Our technicians measure your air on-site and go through the readings with you - about 30 minutes, no cost, and no obligation. Based on the results and your interest, we show you the options best suited for your home.