Corona Discharge ozonators use an exposed electrical arc to generate ozone. A byproduct of Corona Discharge ozonation is nitric acid. When mixed with moisture from the humidity in the grow space this corrosive “syrup” contaminates the surfaces that produce the ozone. This requires frequent cleaning of the arcing surfaces or the contamination will reduce the ozone output of the generator.
UV lamps use concentrated ultraviolet light waves to produce ozone. These bulbs do not produce harmful residues. Humidity does not affect their function. There is no need to constantly clean the UV lamps during your grow cycle, unlike with Corona Discharge style ozonators.
Some Corona Discharge units can produce more ozone, but not in high humidity environments. You may have experienced static electricity. This usually happens in extremely dry conditions. However, when it’s damp outside, not so much. For grow room applications where humidity is almost always a factor, this gives a huge advantage to the BIG BLUE and its UV lamps.
One other issue with Corona Discharge units is that you need to run them with some type of baffle. The reason is that these units produce ozone in “chunks”; they generate a set amount of ozone and then release it. It is not a continuous process. We frequently hear from customers who complain that they tried a Corona Discharge unit in their exhaust systems and it did not work because they would smell strong ozone coming out of the system and then smell garden odor because the ozone did not have a chance to mix with all the air exiting the room. The worst part of this is that most ozone manufacturers don’t even offer a baffle box for their units!