REFRIGERANTS VENTILATION Benefi ts of schools spending
on ventilation improvements Matthew Maleki, high rise residential and hospitality business development manager, CIAT, explores the impacts of poor ventilation on students and explains why cutting ventilation spend in schools could aff ect health and learning outcomes.
pandemic. A
As school budgets are squeezed ever tighter, some educational establishments have decided to cut ventilation budgets. However, this is a short-sighted saving – potentially aff ecting students’ learning outcomes, health and overall wellbeing. The eff ects of poor-quality air indoors have long been
overshadowed by outdoor pollution – although we spend more than 90% of our time inside and a shocking 3.2 million people die prematurely due to indoor air pollution each year, according to WHO.
A school ventilation system can provide a safe, comfortable and healthy indoor environment. However, the UNISON survey revealed that only 26% of schools actively monitor levels of carbon dioxide in their classrooms, just 16% of respondents said the school was ensuring good ventilation and 46% said their school was ventilating rooms much less than the year before. Nearly half of respondents (44.6%) said the change was because the school no longer thought Covid was an issue, while 42% said the school was worried about energy costs.
Health eff ects of poor ventilation UNISON is concerned that this drop in ventilation is increasing
the risk of illness and absences in schools – and is particularly concerned about immunosuppressed students and staff who
survey by the public service union UNISON has revealed there has been a signifi cant drop-off in good ventilation practices in schools since the Covid-19
are especially vulnerable to infection. Eff ective ventilation may dilute airborne pathogens, helping to minimize illnesses circulating in the school premises and improving air quality. Other particles in the air potentially causing health problems are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted from certain types of liquids or solids in the form of gas. Indoor areas can experience higher concentrations of certain pollutants such as VOCs, semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), radon, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Health charity Asthma + Lung UK has linked poor indoor air quality (IAQ) to increased incidences of asthma, lung cancer and increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Common short-term symptoms as a result of exposure to VOCs includes headaches, dizziness, sickness and irritated airways.
Students are more vulnerable than adults to poor IAQ
as they breathe in more air per unit weight and are more sensitive to heat, cold and moisture – so poor ventilation conditions may aff ect proper development. Classrooms are also more congested than workplaces, with an occupation density of about four times that of offi ces.
Cognitive function It’s not just physical health that could be at risk – but also the
CIAT COADIS LINE 900 cassettes, designed for comfort, IAQ and eco-effi ciency.
students’ cognitive function. Carrier backed a study on how indoor air pollution aff ects our mental and physical health – the Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function (COGfx). The study, led by researchers at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, comprised three related studies into the impact of ventilation and fi ltration on occupants’ cognitive function and health in the lab, the impact in buildings in US cities, and in six countries around the world. The lab tests revealed that cognitive function scores were 61% higher in green buildings (with low VOCs) compared to conventional buildings – and a huge 101% higher in enhanced green buildings (with low VOCs and enhanced ventilation). On average, participants in green-certifi ed buildings saw 26% higher cognitive function scores than those in non- certifi ed, high-performing buildings. Higher scores were identifi ed in critical areas such as crisis response and strategy. The greatest cognitive function diff erences were seen in the areas of crisis response (73%), the ability to gear decision- making towards overall goals (44%), the capacity to pay attention to situations at hand (38%) and strategy (31%).
28 September 2023 •
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