In autumn 2018, Majaelpo.lv and "Laiks Mājai" visited Jelgava Spīdolas Valsts ģimnāzija to measure the air quality and install a heat recovery unit in the classroom to improve the air quality and well-being of the students.
After the installation of the heat recovery unit, students' opinions on the improvements after the installation of the Heat recovery unit were sought. Majaelpo.lv's Uldis also took CO2 measurements to accurately illustrate the effect of theHeat recovery system on improving air quality.
Transcript of the broadcast
Presenter: Hello, I see that it is precisely about the life processes… about breathing and so…
Teacher: Hello! Yes, about, yes, about breathing... bacteria...
Presenter: How often do you have to ventilate these rooms so that the students can breathe?
Teacher: Well, actually, practically, if it's warm, we have the window open all the time, you see, but we also ventilate all the time during the break.
Leader.
Presenter: Need that every hour?
Teacher: It is necessary, yes, of course, yes, because the air changes very slowly in here.
Student 1: Well, I think we should... we should ventilate after every lesson, because the classroom gets very saturated and it's very hot.
Presenter: Hasn't it been that sleep comes?
Student 2: Yes there is, quite often, that even completely sleep during the lesson.
Girl student 1: It would be good if the rooms were ventilated regularly, but unfortunately in winter it's cold and it would be good if there was like ventilation and stuff.
Uldis Salzirnis: A week and a half ago we put a CO2 meter in the school to see what was going on. And in the morning the air here is very fresh (shows the CO2 measurement on the tablet) if the window is even in winter ventilation or slightly open. But as soon as the first hour starts, after 10-15 minutes the CO2 level is so high that it is in the red zone. The first thing that definitely starts to appear is drowsiness... at the moment it is still warm outside and the windows are mostly kept open and it is not hard to imagine what will happen when it gets colder and the windows can no longer be opened.
Presenter: But maybe there is a solution?
Uldis Salzirnis: We offer a very quick and simple solution - the Climtec heat recovery unit, which is easy to install individually in each room. This unit retains the heat that is in the room without returning it to the outside by heating the incoming air.
Presenter: We ventilate, but the heat doesn't go out?
Uldis Salzirnis: Yes, yes.
Presenter: We were just looking at the table, it was 2800. What should it be?
Uldis Salzirnis: It should be below 1000.
Presenter: We are in Jelgava at the moment, but is it possible that it is not only here, but also in other schools in Latvia?
Uldis Salzirnis: Yes, exactly. This problem has been raised several times and... and it has not really been solved. In fact, parents started raising the issue. The municipality and the school management solved the issue.
Presenter: Yes, and there is a bit better ventilation, a hole in the wall, another one at least.
Uldis Salzirnis: Yes, it is! Lets put the equipment in and we will come back here after a while and see what this equipment has done.
Presenter: About three weeks ago we visited the Jelgava Spīdolas ģimnāzija and this machine was not there before. Let's find out how the children feel now.
Presenter: Sleep is no longer coming?
Student 3: No.
Student 2: The air is not so stale anymore, it is easier to learn and it is also easier to understand what the teacher is saying.
Student 3: When you come into the classroom, it feels fresh, it's easier to concentrate.
Student 4: Coming in from outside, well from outside, like from the corridor, like inside the classroom is different too, like the atmosphere, like the air and everything, it's easier to concentrate on the lessons and...
Student 5: When I come into the classroom, you can feel like the fresh air, even though it was ventilated before, but like... and also like... not too much pressure on the brain.
Student 6: If, for example, you go into another classroom, there was a classroom, you can feel that there's like... not much air to breathe, but when you come in here you can feel that there's more to breathe and also the air is fresher.
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Presenter: Everything works, the children are happy. What are your readings?
Uldis Salzirnis: [Shows a tablet with measurements] We are very close to the green zone. This means that the equipment is working and it is doing its job. We are waiting for an even more powerful machine, which will be with us soon. This unit here will be about one and a half times more powerful, and therefore this air exchange cubic capacity will be one and a half times higher than this [Heat recovery unit installed 3 weeks ago] unit. The best proof was what the children said, and I think it is very important to understand that air quality is very important, and anyone, including teachers and anyone, who is in a room that is ventilated, they feel alert, they do not get sleepy, and they are taking care of their health in that way.
Presenter: Where do people who want to breathe look for you?
Uldis Salzirnis: Look for us on the web https://www.majaelpo.lv!
For more information about the product mentioned in the programme, visit Climtec heat recovery unit!
