UV-C Air Sanitizer System OEM Replacement Lamp, Cleans Air of Bacteria, Germs, Mold and Allergens, 17-Inch Replacement Lamp, 51-BUVAS-RL-1

I just ordered in a received a couple of bulbs on Jan 10 th 2018. Shipped and sold by Amazon.I can verify that they are NOT Philips bulbs.I have ordered these in the past and still have one extra on hand to compare.These are some type of generic bulb that seems very much inferior in quality to the Philips version.A few observations.- This generic bulb has two wires that are loose and not protected going across the outside of the bulb.- The Philips has a plastic coated protective sleeve on the outside of the bulb that protects both the wires and the glass from damage. If breakage occurs it will also hold the glass together and keep it from getting everywhere inside your air handler.- This generic bulb is about an inch longer than the Philips.I'm sending these back and looking for the real one's. I think the small couple of dollars that these save don't add up to be a worthy value.

I purchased 3 BUVAS-1 Bioshield UV-C devices in Feb of 2015, and bought these replacement bulbs in Feb of 2017. They absolutely do not fit. I broke 1 applying moderate pressure into the socket, the glass cut me, and who knows what I inhaled from inside the bulb. It was extremely brittle. In fact, 1 of the 3 bulbs purchased came already broken during delivery, and they're packed fairly well.There are 3 problems with this bulb:1) It is glass, and not solid glass but very brittle glass. The original bulbs were plastic which makes more sense. Inside an A/C unit that produces large amounts of vibration, glass like this is nonsense.2) It is longer than the original bulbs, by several inches. This may not be an issue for everyone.3) The end that goes into the socket is straight, not beveled like the original bulbs. The bulb base MUST be beveled to fit the socket. Mine broke off inside after only a moderate pressure, and I now have to drill out the base of the bulb. It still wasn't making contact with the socket prongs.The title of this page is misleading in my opinion. This is not a replacement for the BUVAS-1, at least the one that I purchased. Maybe they changed the style of the BUVAS-1 socket at a later date without changing the model number, and you will have better luck. To be sure, I would check if the inside of your BUVAS-1 socket is beveled inward (or easier to look at the original bulb to see if it is beveled inward at the base). If so, don't get this bulb.

It states this is a replacement bulb for the Bio-Shield Air Sanitizer we purchased last year. Bulb does not fit because the end that plugs into the unit is not tapered. Have to return these bulbs. I searched Amazon for the specific Philips UV bulb that came with the unit and they do sell it for $18, so ordered 2 of those. Also, comments I read stated the bulb (that does not fit) comes wrapped in plastic and the plastic does not need to be removed, although it can be removed. Just fyi, there was no plastic on this bulb. for information only.

This is the second order for a Bio-Shield replacement bulb. The first time I got the Philips product with the teflon shield. It worked fine. Unfortunately this second order resulted in a non-Philips product. No teflon shield and it did not "click" in like the Philips bulb. It would not turn on. They should send the Philips bulb when that is what the description contains. I will find another source

This is the first refill I've purchased, and I'm now entering my second year of using this. Seemed like last year the whole family wasn't as sick within a week or two of installing this for the first time. I was hesitant to chalk all of that up to this UV-C air sanitizer. I wasn't even thinking of replacing it until the whole family was sick pretty constantly (again, just like last year,) then I wondered if these things have an effective life (i.e. not working as well even though it's not burned out.)Sure enough the official documentation states they drop 80% of their germ killing capacity (so somewhere in the range of 20% original effectiveness) after 12mo usage. Bought this replacement bulb and while we still get sick here and there, there's a marked improvement for the whole family. I'm now firmly convinced this helps and will be buying a replacement at the end of the summer every year.I don't think everyone with an hvac system needs it, but if your whole family has a reduced immune system it's worth a shot.