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When it comes to poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools, health risks are probably the first thing that comes to mind as far as how students and staff could be affected. But that’s not the only threat it poses. In fact, studies have shown that poor school IAQ leads to more absenteeism and lower test scores. Needless to say, the reasons for ensuring healthy IAQ in schools are abundant.

“Before 2020, when COVID-19 abruptly forced teachers and students to abandon classrooms and adapt to at-home learning, most people probably didn’t think much about the air they breathe inside,” said Bhavesh Gupta, global director of engineering, Honeywell Building Technologies. “However, today, building occupants are more aware about how IAQ can impact their overall well-being and ultimately changes how they experience a building.”

HVAC contractors can do their part by staying up-to-date on IAQ technologies custom-designed for schools, and educating school administrators about how they can achieve better IAQ and what funding is available for air quality improvement.

IAQ Investigation

As more research has been done on the effects of poor IAQ, more impacts have been discovered. Fortunately, that research often pushes people to research further. That was the case with IAQ in schools.

DRAFT-FREE: FabricAir ducts were used in this elementary school common area to provide draft-free airflow to common areas. (Courtesy of FabricAir)

“You always hear that the kids come in from recess and they're hot and tired … and they sit down and boy, the teachers just go crazy just trying to get their attention,” said Tony Kocurek, Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA) president. “And also realizing that maybe performance on both the teaching and the student learning side … started really dropping off.”

So groups like the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) started looking for reasons why. ASHRAE did a lot of research on indoor air quality, specifically looking at CO₂ levels.

IMPROVING IAQ IN STYLE: A kindergarten classroom improved their indoor air quality with D-shaped ducts featuring a whimsical custom printed fabric. (Courtesy of FabricAir)

“[Researchers] started noticing a correlation with students feeling kind of tired and lackadaisical after lunch with higher than what is recommended levels of CO₂, and so they started putting monitors in different areas and started looking,” said Kocurek. “Sure enough, they were finding that a lot of areas and schools, especially those that allowed 700-900 million ppm as a threshold level, were up over 1,000 to 2,000.”

Solutions for Schools

When there’s bad air inside, oftentimes the thought process involves opening a window or a door to let the bad air out and the “good” air in. While this can help, that can also mean letting in unfiltered, polluted air that causes the HVAC system to do more work than it normally would, and doesn’t completely solve the air quality issue.

ASHRAE’s new standard for the control of infectious aerosols, Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols, published in June 2023, states that classrooms should provide 40 cfm of clean air per person, said Christian Weeks, CEO of enVerid Systems.

HEPA: Improving filtration can be done by deploying HEPA filters directly in the space. (Courtesy of Honeywell Building Technologies)

“As Standard 241 states, this clean air target can be achieved with filtered return airflow, inactivation of infectious aerosols, and/or outdoor airflow,” Weeks said. “In many cases, simply installing a HEPA filter in a classroom will allow classrooms to hit the 40 cfm of clean air per person target.”

Installing the latest IAQ equipment and technologies is one way schools can ensure these standards are met.

“New installations can incorporate newer technologies that combine outside air with conditioned air to get a mix between the two in order to incorporate fresh air without the need for a retrofit,” said Andrew Johnson, applications engineer at FabricAir. These include things like complex ventilation systems that, based on indoor and outdoor air pollutants, are automatically able to adjust the intake and exhaust of fresh air within a building or space in order to improve IAQ.

“These types of systems are designed to optimize indoor air quality while managing energy use and comfort, and responding to factors such as occupancy levels, outdoor air quality and minimizing energy usage,” said Gupta.

Filtration also has be addressed, whether or not it’s possible to improve ventilation through opening a window.

“Improving filtration is more energy-efficient than bringing in more outside air when it is hot or cold outside because conditioning outside air for comfort is energy-intensive,” Weeks said. “Improving filtration can be done at the central HVAC system, if one exists, by upgrading to MERV 13 or higher-efficiency particle filters or by deploying HEPA filters directly in the space.”

Contractors and IAQ

HVAC contractors have to be at the forefront of the fight for better IAQ in schools. Fortunately, there are a few tips they can offer right off the bat to improve IAQ.

“First and foremost is on-time filter replacement,” Johnson said. “That's probably the easiest and lowest-hanging fruit.”

Gupta said that contractors can start by helping address a common misconception in the market: that to have better air, more energy must be used.

AIRFLOW: Fabric ducts installed in a university auditorium ensure uniform airflow for a comfortable learning environment. (Courtesy of FabricAir)

“We need to educate our contractors, and ultimately the end users, that there are solutions today that help identify ways to improve indoor air and optimize energy use,” said Gupta. “HVAC contractors and school facility managers should take the time to make themselves aware of all the solutions available. This can be done through available data online, setting up chats with companies about available products, and running a trial with the latest technologies.”

While school administrators work every day to ensure the children and staff in their schools have the best learning/teaching environments, they might not really know the effect that indoor air quality can have on the outcome, or the steps that need to be taken to achieve healthy IAQ — or even that there’s funding available to assist schools in obtaining better HVAC equipment.

“School administration officials have a lot of things on their plate, so it’s helpful for [contractors] to come fully informed to the discussion to help guide them on things that may be new or provide the best path forward, as opposed to picking and air handling unit that doesn’t any fresh air,” said Johnson. “And, sometimes, contractors have the chance to advocate for something like that.”

While contractors themselves can’t get any of that actual funding, they can make the school board aware of it.

CLEAN AIR EVERYWHERE: A large white fabric duct installed in a classroom with high ceilings utilizes FabricAir’s NozzFlowTM solution to ensure that airflow reaches the occupied space. (Courtesy of FabricAir)

“The IRA provided massive amounts of funding for schools to upgrade their ventilation system, providing a once-in-a-generation opportunity for schools to use federal funds to future-proof their building HVAC systems against pandemics and wildfires and ensure the delivery of comfortable, safe indoor air quality,” Weeks said. “Contractors should be helping schools access these funds to make critical investments in our school infrastructure.”

Kocurek said if a quality contractor is handling improving a school’s IAQ, that school board will see the improvements in its IAQ through their students’ performance. They’ll also see maintenance issues and costs go down.

“Overall, I think you end up seeing better systems, and I think when administrators have a handle on it, they're more apt to keep a handle on it — and a good contractor, when he goes in to talk to those administrators, can make them aware of some of the things that they need to look at,” Kocurek said.