Educational centres need to improve air quality
Most classrooms in educational centres built before 2007 have deficient air quality, and therefore they require a rehabilitation plan to improve ventilation, filtration, energy efficiency and decarbonisation, according to the participants in the last Atecyr congress. This association has also drawn up a document with recommendations on the ventilation systems to protect the educational community from Covid-19.
Guaranteeing the necessary ventilation is a challenge in many educational centres, as they have no mechanical installation, advises Atecyr, the Spanish Technical Association of HVAC and Refrigeration. These centres only have natural ventilation (with windows), that significantly depends on the temperature difference between inside and outside air, in addition to the wind speed and direction. “As a result, enough natural ventilation cannot be guaranteed at all times. On the other hand, mechanical ventilation systems can guarantee continuous air renewal throughout the year”.
During the latest Atecyr congress, held in late November, Pedro Vicente Quiles, President of the Technical Committee of this association, pointed out that “the quality of air in most of the classrooms in educational centres built before 2007 is deficient”. He added that “a rehabilitation plan to improve air quality in the classrooms of old centres must be drawn up: ventilation and filtering, in addition to the criteria of energy efficiency and the goal for decarbonisation.”
Recommendations for schools
Atecyr has produced a document containing a series of recommendations and solutions on the quality of inside air to protect the educational community from Covid-19 and prevent spreading between children in the primary and secondary centres that, due to their age, in many cases do not have mechanical ventilation. The recommendations are based on the proper use of the ventilation systems, whether natural or mechanical, and the sanitation installations. “These are short-term recommendations because, over the long-term, the general recommendation is to provide the entire educational centre with a mechanical ventilation system, following the current requirements of the Regulations on Thermal Installations in Buildings”.
Among the tips and recommendations provided by Atecyr for educational centres are to check the ventilation of the areas and inside air flows, certain actions on installations with natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation, heat exchangers and autonomous air purifiers, as well as other actions on sanitation installations and instructions for those persons in charge of the centres.