Improving ventilation and indoor air quality in schools has never been more important. Having proper ventilation and filtration of the air in schools reduces your child’s risk of contracting viruses like the common cold, RSV, and even COVID-19.
Many school buildings lacked proper ventilation at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily schools are now receiving funds to help them upgrade their systems and improve the air quality for staff and students. Explore the eight ways improving ventilation in schools can prevent the spread of viruses and what actions you can take to stop the spread in your school.
The Ventilation at Your School
How do you know if your school has up-to-date ventilation systems? Modern schools and buildings are safer because their ventilation systems and HVAC equipment are newer and more efficient. However, many older buildings still use outdated ventilation and HVAC systems that aren’t up to current standards.
Approximately half of the school districts in the United States have heating, plumbing, and HVAC systems that need to be replaced or updated. This represents over 36,000 schools nationwide in need of improved ventilation and air circulation systems.
About half of schools rely on funding from local government sources like state funding and property taxes to pay for upgrades. In spring 2021, the American Rescue Plan was signed into law; the bill includes $122 billion to fund the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program. This program provides funding to schools to help prevent the spread of viruses like COVID-19 by improving air quality.
Schools are allowed to use funds to upgrade their ventilation by:
- Installing new HVAC systems
- Installing new heating or boiler systems
- Upgrading existing heating and cooling systems
- Upgrading or repairing windows and doors
This bill includes funding for longer-term projects like the inspection, maintenance, and repair of ventilation systems in the years to come.
8 Ways to Improve Ventilation in Schools
As students return to the classroom, mitigating the spread of airborne illness is a critical discussion point among teachers, parents, and politicians. Here are eight ways schools can improve ventilation and reduce virus spread:
Increase Air Circulation
Ventilation experts say that increasing air circulation in buildings like schools helps prevent the spread of viruses like colds, the flu, RSV, and COVID-19. This is because new air coming into a room helps dilute any virus particles already circulating.
Viral particles come from students and staff coughing, sneezing, and breathing. While large droplets (>5 μm in diameter) fall quickly to the ground due to gravity, transmitting ≤1 meter in distance, small droplets (droplet nuclei) are ≤5 μm in diameter and remain suspended in the air for longer periods, allowing them to circulate and transmit further.
With poor ventilation, the air in classrooms, hallways, and cafeterias will quickly fill up with these smaller viral particles. Other staff and students can enter a room or walk by and breathe these particles in, leading to viral spread. By increasing air circulation, you reduce the number of viral particles remaining in a given space.
Increase Rates of Air Exchange
Your school can reduce viral transmission by increasing the rate of air exchange. Experts agree that a room needs three full exchanges of air to remove virus particles. An efficient HVAC system and stand-alone HEPA filtration systems can increase the air exchange rate in a classroom and decrease viral transmission.
Your school can increase air exchange and improve air quality by running ventilation systems for two hours before and after the school day. You can also set your system to “On” instead of “Auto” so the ventilation runs continuously even when heating and cooling are unnecessary.
Improve Filtration
Upgrade your school’s existing heating and cooling systems to an improved filtration of MERV-13 efficiency. This level of filtration keeps smaller particles, including viruses, from recirculating in the air. Make sure the HVAC filters are sized correctly and replace them regularly, according to your manufacturer’s guidelines.
Inspect and Maintain Current Ventilation Systems
Regularly inspect and maintain your current ventilation system. It’s important to know if your system is working correctly and be aware of any problems. Make sure to contact an air conditioning installation company to avoid unnecessary complications. . Addressing any problems quickly prevents air quality from worsening.
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Upgrade Your School’s Ventilation System
If your ventilation system is old or not appropriately sized for the building, it may not be up to industry standards and require upgrading. Your school can invest in new HVAC or heating systems that run more efficiently and have higher levels of filtration.
Ensure your ventilation system is sized correctly for your school’s rooms. Larger rooms will take longer to exchange the air. It also may be hard to retrofit HVAC systems into older buildings. Consider purchasing a dual zone mini split system to heat or cool rooms in your school without performing additional ductwork. You can use splits to add extra air circulation to any part of your school. Upgrading your school’s ventilation system will prevent the spread of germs from class to class as well as mitigate any spread of viruses to the rest of the school.
Use Stand-Alone HEPA Air Purifiers
HEPA air purifiers are highly efficient air filters that prevent harmful particles from traveling through the air. This includes dust mites, smoke, pet dander, pollen, and even viral droplets.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using a HEPA filter that can remove particles at a range of .1-1μm is effective for trapping virus particles. Using a HEPA-grade air filter in conjunction with an environmentally friendly multi zone mini split goes a long way toward helping stop the spread of viruses in schools.
Opening Windows
Opening windows introduces fresh air and reduces the concentration of viral particles in rooms. In warm weather, keep classroom windows open as much as possible. In cold weather, leaving windows open just a small amount helps improve air quality and lowers the spread of viruses.
Take classroom activities outdoors, where air circulation is constant, whenever possible. This includes recess, lunches, and classes when appropriate. This might need investing in outdoor furniture but it will be worth the effort.
Use a Portable Carbon Dioxide Monitor
You can check a classroom’s air circulation by using a portable carbon dioxide monitor. It’s recommended to keep indoor CO₂ levels at no more than 700 ppm above outdoor air. A portable CO₂ monitor can help your classroom detect when levels are getting high and alert you as to when you should open a window or turn on a fan to get the air moving.
Help Prevent the Spread of Viruses in Schools
Schools are one of the leading places where viruses spread; therefore, it’s vital to take measures to improve air ventilation to minimize the spread of viruses among school-aged children and teens.
School districts can do this by updating mini split air conditioning systems to improve airflow, adding stand-alone HEPA filters to each classroom, and encouraging teachers to open windows whenever possible to allow fresh air into the classroom.
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