Uncertainty on school ventilation
Ventilation can ensure that contaminated indoor air is removed, including these potentially dangerous aerosols. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science therefore is recommending that schools have their ventilation system checked.
But how do you know what requirements the ventilation system should comply with? And how can you ensure that everyone can work, learn and play with a feeling of security?
Ventilation system requirements
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) states that schools can safely open if their ventilation is in order. To ensure that schools become and remain a safe environment for both pupils and teachers, it is important that the ventilation system meets the requirements of the Building Regulations.
But how can you find out which requirements the ventilation system at your school should comply with? To have this checked you need an expert building services company to assess whether the ventilation system is functioning properly. It is possible that the regulations may not adequately address the current situation, making it wise to have the system checked. Should the system fail to meet the requirements, an action plan will be drawn up to improve the ventilation in the school.
Maintenance of the ventilation system
Once the mechanical ventilation system has been properly cleaned and adjusted, it is important to carry out regular maintenance. Instructions are also needed to ensure the staff operate the ventilation system properly. This then ensures that classrooms and common areas continue to be supplied with a continuous flow of fresh air.
Recirculation
The RIVM advises against at least one form of ventilation: recirculation. This includes systems such as air conditioning that extract the air from a room and then blow it back into that same room. With this process, the air in the room is not refreshed and you cannot rule out any existing aerosols being spread. For this reason, the advice is to as far as possible avoid having the air recirculated in any rooms, and to refresh the rooms with fresh air as much as possible.
