Savior of classroom teaching or rash investment?
Opinions differ about air purification devices.
There was now a presentation in Zolling.
Zolling -
There it was now: just under 2.50 meters high, optically simple and inconspicuous, and performed a service that gives many parents hope. Hope that in the future this 195 kilo device will be the guarantee that children can attend class instead of having to return to homeschooling if the incidence is high - with all the far-reaching consequences for mothers, fathers and children. The Zolling administrative association had organized a mobile air purification device called "AirPurifier" from Wolf. The device - visually comparable to a fridge-freezer combination - was in use for a day of instruction.The mayors of the administrative community and representatives of the schools were then given the first findings and observations of this test run in a classroom of the Zolling elementary and secondary school.
Technical details
Zolling's Mayor Helmut Priller and his colleague from Haag, Anton Geier, presented the technical details of the device to those interested: It is suitable for a classroom up to 90 square meters in size, sucks in used air from below and blows the cleaned air out again above .
During the process, the entire room air is circulated, a constant process, which is why the device must also run continuously.
“You can't say switch it on for a moment,” said Priller.
The AirPurifier has an additional power button, if you press it, it temporarily runs in maximum mode - "that makes sense during breaks, for example," said Geier.
The volume is 39 to 40 dB, the power consumption is 140 watts, which means 25 cents additional electricity costs per classroom if the system is operated for five hours in the morning.
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The AirPurifier was available for a presentation to interested parties in Zolling.
Hague's mayor Anton Geier and his colleague from Zolling, Helmut Priller (right), explained the air filter device at the Zolling elementary and middle school.
© Lehmann
"The device can only filter, so it does not replace ventilation," emphasized Priller.
The filter system is divided into three parts: The device has a fine dust filter, an activated carbon filter and - the most important - a Hepa filter that captures up to 99 percent of the viral load.
Depending on the wear and tear, the filters must be changed annually.
Costs for this: 300 to 350 euros per device.
The exchange is carried out by a specialist company, the filters then have to be burned "because they are highly contaminated", as Helmut Priller explained.
The practical test
Zollings Rector Thomas Dittmeyer reported on the practical test in class.
"It's something you have to get used to," he said.
The teacher, who held a full day of school with AirPurifier lessons running, did not feel bothered by it, although the device made a constant tone.
Compared to continuous ventilation in winter, this is definitely the more attractive option, said Dittmeyer.
Even if at the moment nobody can reliably say “what such a device will actually bring us”.
The costs
As Geier explained, the acquisition costs per device range from 2800 to 3200 euros.
50 percent of this is subsidized by the state, the remainder is taken over by the material expense manager, i.e. the respective municipality.
In addition, according to Helmut Priller, there are commissioning costs of around 60 euros per filter system.
According to Anton Geier, around 80 devices would be needed for the Zolling administrative community with the three primary schools (Haag, Wolfersdorf and Attenkirchen) and the Zolling primary and secondary school.
Without kindergartens and lunchtime care, the VG would have to pay around 200,000 euros.
Lots of ambiguities
As VG managing director Eugen Altmann explained, according to the Bavarian Municipal Day (as of Monday), the school family should decide whether such filter systems are to be purchased or not. "It is probably a building block among many other measures that we have to take to keep the school going," said Altmann. "Before we get the guarantee that schools that have these air filter devices can stay open even if the incidence increases, I'm not in favor of spending so much money," affirmed Wolfersdorf's community leader Anita Wölfle. And her colleague from Langenbach, Susanne Hoyer, warned against a rushed shot. “We shouldn't do anything before we know exactly what to do.” Because so far only poor specifications have been set for the devices. Attenkirchen's mayor Matthias Kern criticizedthat this important component in the fight against the pandemic will now be passed on to the municipalities. "It would definitely be the task of the state to purchase these devices for all schools."
In conflict
The representatives of the VG schools present were divided even after the presentation.
According to the tenor, the pressure from parents to buy such devices will not be able to cope.
It remains to be seen whether this expensive investment will ultimately guarantee that the schools will remain open.
In the end, Zollings councilor Andrea Bachmaier summed it up: “Even if we are not in favor, we still have to buy them.
Because if, at the end of the day, classroom teaching only takes place in schools that are equipped with such devices, it is a disaster if our school stays closed because we have decided against it. "
The decision
Since there are currently no detailed specifications as to which devices are ultimately bindingly eligible for funding and the municipality of Zolling wants to wait for the approval of the Bavarian state government anyway in order not to endanger the subsidies, it was agreed in the subsequent school association meeting that a special meeting would be held meet as soon as more details on the subject are available from the state government.
