Highly effective IDEAL filtration technology ensures clean air
The media continuously and intensively discuss equipping schools and kindergartens with air purifiers. The Schulwerk of the Diocese of Augsburg also places great importance on the health of students, teachers, and staff during pandemic times. For this reason, a remarkable 1,200 IDEAL AP80 PRO air purifiers were purchased. The director of the Schulwerk of the Diocese of Augsburg, Mr Peter Kosak, reports on the background and experiences.
The Schulwerk of the Diocese of Augsburg is a public law foundation. It was established in 1975 by the Diocese of Augsburg to support and secure the important educational work of the church-run schools. According to its statutes, its “task and purpose is to operate pre-school, school, and school-like institutions of Catholic orientation, primarily in the Diocese of Augsburg.” Since its founding, the foundation has directly taken over 40 schools and founded 5 new schools.
Peter Kosak, director of the Schulwerk of the Diocese of Augsburg: “The IDEAL AP80 PRO air purifiers are used in all schools of our Schulwerk – and have been since mid-September 2021. This includes four primary schools, one middle school, 21 secondary schools (Realschulen), 10 grammar schools (Gymnasien) and one vocational high school (Fachoberschule); in vocational schools, this covers five specialised academies for social pedagogy, one vocational school for childcare, one vocational school for nutrition and supply, and one vocational school for primary school child care. The IDEAL air purifiers have been installed in all classrooms as well as staff rooms.”
Clean and purified indoor air is more important than ever, especially in places where many people regularly gather. In care groups and classrooms, where social distancing is difficult, infectious diseases often spread particularly quickly. When learning, playing, and singing together, infectious aerosols are distributed through the air. The efficient IDEAL air purifiers counteract this, complementing and enhancing protective measures such as distancing, partitions, surface disinfection, and face masks. By circulating and cleaning the air several times per hour, they reduce the residence time of pollutants in indoor air and lower the amount of virulent aerosols.
Peter Kosak: “We feel obliged to do everything within our means to reduce potential viral load in our schools and actively prevent infection risks. With this acquisition, we not only aim to protect the health of our students, teachers, and staff, but also to ensure in-person teaching. The air purifiers are intended to create the best possible teaching conditions during classroom instruction in the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect this to provide a significant increase in hygiene and safety.”
Highly effective IDEAL filtration technology ensures clean air The AP80 PRO model offers a professional high-performance air purifier that ensures clean air. This air purifier model also stands out for its low noise emissions and low energy consumption.
Peter Kosak: “The purchase of the air purifiers was 50% subsidised by the Free State of Bavaria. We financed the rest ourselves. We processed this order through the company Kaut-Bullinger Office + Solution GmbH from Munich. The corresponding offer was obtained as part of a Europe-wide tender process.”
This quality device “Made in Balingen” also achieves a very high air throughput and maximum purification performance. The cartridge design ensures effective utilisation of the entire filter surface, and the airflow captures even distant particles in the room. The highly efficient IDEAL 360° SmartFilters remove up to 99.99% of all particles (at 0.2 μm, according to DIN 71460-1), aerosols, pollutants, and pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. Gases and chemical compounds are also filtered from the indoor air.
These highly efficient, multi-stage filter layers (pre-filter grid, pre-filter layer, HEPA microfiber layer, activated carbon layer, and cover layer) capture almost everything: smaller and larger particles, gases, and chemical compounds. Even the hardest-to-capture particles, sized 0.1 to 0.3 micrometres, are reliably filtered from indoor air. This is important as these respirable ultrafine particles can be harmful to health.
Peter Kosak: “The IDEAL AP80 PRO air purifier convinces us especially with its compactness, ease of use, and simple maintenance. In addition to operating the air purifiers directly on the device, controlling the units via remote control makes it easier for teachers to use them from a distance.”
Furthermore, the intelligent built-in sensor technology monitors and controls the air quality in the room, ensuring consistently clean air. Additionally, the IDEAL AS10 indoor air sensor is available on request, which measures and displays the air composition, indoor climate, and potential environmental influences in real time. All measured values are conveniently visualised via the “IDEAL AIR PRO” app.
Peter Kosak: “Depending on the length of the school day, the air purifiers operate in classrooms for between 6 and 10 hours. Since the installation of the air purifiers, the school community certainly feels much safer regarding potential COVID-19 infection.”