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For schools throughout the country, the back-to-school preparations for the 2021/22 academic year were a little different to usual, with measures to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 in the education environment coming top of the agenda.
As well as encouraging students and staff to keep up with twice-weekly testing and providing on-site tests for secondary and college students, the government has also, quite rightly, turned its attention to the important issue of ventilation.
It’s widely known that letting fresh air into indoor spaces can help remove air that contains virus particles, and as we navigate our way out of the Covid-19 pandemic, this will be key to minimising disruption caused by isolation periods and ensuring the education environment is safe for all staff and pupils.
“It’s widely known that letting fresh air into indoor spaces can help remove air that contains virus particles.”
The government has recently announced that all state-funded education settings will be provided with carbon dioxide monitors from September through its £25m initiative, enabling staff to monitor ventilation and quickly identify any areas that need improving. A trial of air purifiers, backed by the Department of Health and Social Care, is also being carried out across 30 schools in Bradford to assess whether they effectively reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission in education settings.
Although not covered by these government schemes, independent schools can also greatly benefit from exploring ventilation measures to minimise the risk of Covid-19 and other viruses spreading in the school environment. After all, fewer viruses circulating means a safer school environment, less disruption to teaching and therefore a better quality of education being delivered.
That’s why, at Miele, we’ve been hard at work producing our first air purifier, AirControl, to minimise the spread of airborne infections and improve hygiene efficiency within closed spaces. The unit is mobile, safe, and durable, making it an ideal solution for the school environment, and has an integrated CO2 sensor to help staff monitor ventilation levels.
“Fewer viruses circulating means a safer school environment, less disruption to teaching.”
While ventilating rooms by opening windows may be seen as a viable option for dispersing particles, it is often inefficient and involves considerable energy losses in the winter months – not to mention cold staff and pupils. Instead, air purifiers continuously monitor air quality and rid it of any harmful particles though constant filtration, permanently reducing the viral load.
With this in mind, at the outset of the pandemic we urgently turned our attention to the creation of AirControl, accelerating our development process to make it the fastest “concept to production” product to hit the market in Miele’s history.
With droplets of around > 5 µm (micrometre) primarily responsible for the transmission of the SAR-CoV-2 virus over short distance, and aerosol particles of approximately < 5 µm in size also presenting a high risk of infection in enclosed spaces, the AirControl takes effective action through powerful, best-in-class technology.
It contains a five-stage filtration system, including a certified HEPA H14 filter built to remove 99.9995 per cent of harmful particles from indoor air circulation. This has been designed with a coarse filter to hold back and filter out coarse particles such as pollen, lint and small paper fibres; a fine filter to retain particles between one and 10 µm in size (such as smoke, germs and bacteria); an active charcoal filter to remove odours; and an exhaust filter to optimise air discharge, ensuring the uniform distribution of air.
“The air is heated to 70 degrees Celsius before entering the filter cartridge to deactivate relevant pathogens.”
In addition, AirControl features Miele ThermoControl for the thermal deactivation of relevant pathogens. The air is heated to 70 degrees Celsius before entering the filter cartridge to deactivate relevant pathogens. In fact, the capacity and performance of the air purifier is designed to allow a six-fold displacement of room air per hour.
The purifier can easily be moved around education environments on smooth-running castors and used wherever there is access to a wall socket. It is also manipulation proof and tilt protected, making it suitable for heavily frequented locations and preventing unwanted tampering.
Taking preventative action against Covid-19 (and other nasty viruses that often circle around schools through the colder months) by introducing innovative ventilation measures can minimise the risk to staff and pupils and help to make the school environment safer for everyone.
This, especially when paired with other measures such as handwashing and regular testing, should minimise the much of the disruption caused by Covid-19. Here’s to a more productive and smooth-sailing academic year – I think we’re ready for one!
For more information on Miele’s AirControl, visit the website.
Clare Humphrey is category manager at the professional division of Miele.