High Efficiency Air Filters in Schools
As a school administrator, you should understand what is polluting your indoor air. You should know which pollutants are causing you health problems. You should make sure that the air in your school is not getting stale. In this day and age, mechanical ventilation is essential to avoid this. Unfortunately, some schools are concerned that HEPA filters will reduce the air flow rate. While this can be a concern, most air quality experts recommend installing HEPA filters as a supplement to ventilation rates.
Poor indoor air quality is a leading cause of many health issues. Children can develop allergies, asthma, and other diseases if their lungs are not healthy. Using high efficiency air filters in your school can help you reduce those risks. For example, you can use carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms to see if your students are breathing in too much CO2. With these monitors, you can also determine which areas of your school need improvement in ventilation.
Why Is Air Quality in Schools So Bad
While these portable air purifiers are a great solution for preventing diseases and ensuring healthy classrooms, some schools aren’t able to upgrade their air systems. This is a significant problem, because some school mechanical systems cannot handle a MERV-15 filter. According to a federal watchdog group, 41 percent of school districts needed to replace or update their air systems. In addition, schools with poor air quality are often hampered by costs, which is why they tend to use cheap, outdated air systems that don’t draw in outside fresh oxygen. In addition, some schools don’t have the proper cleaning schedule for their buildings, and don’t have the resources to do it.
Benefits of Using High Efficiency Air Filters in Schools
High efficiency air filters have many benefits. They can decrease indoor air pollution by as much as 95%. The National Lung Association estimates that over 135 million Americans are exposed to dangerous air levels. In fact, the most vulnerable populations are those with lower incomes and children from low-income families. Furthermore, schools in low-income communities are often built on cheap plots of land, which makes them more vulnerable to the effects of unhealthful air. These schools often don’t have the financial means to upgrade their HVAC systems.
Besides lowering the risk of asthma and other respiratory illnesses, portable HEPA air cleaners are also an excellent investment. They help to reduce the amount of infectious particles in the air. They reduce transmission between students. In recent studies, researchers have found that the use of HEPA air cleaners in classrooms reduced aerosol particle concentrations by up to 80% within 30 minutes. In addition, high efficiency filters in schools have other benefits that may make them the best option for your school.