The use of air purifiers in classrooms is currently being debated.
Do they protect against coronavirus or are they just an expensive placebo?
A study by the University of Applied Sciences in Munich will provide insights.
The two Penzberg elementary schools also belong to the objects of study.
Penzberg - The Munich University of Applied Sciences has started a research project entitled "Safe Classroom" in Upper Bavarian primary and secondary schools in connection with the corona pandemic.
The air quality has recently been measured, recorded and evaluated in 40 classrooms during ongoing lessons.
According to the initiator and project manager Prof. Christian Schwarzbauer, three different ventilation concepts are being investigated: classic window ventilation, the use of room air purifiers and the use of easily retrofittable ventilation systems, developed by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, which is involved in the project.
Next school year, the study is to be expanded to 120 classrooms in the greater Munich and Mainz area.
Penzberg primary schools: measurements in eight classrooms
The two primary schools in Penzberg are also participating in the research project.
Mayor Stefan Korpan (CSU) announced this in the city council meeting on Tuesday evening.
According to city hall manager Roman Reis, four classrooms in each of the two schools on Birkenstrasse and Südstrasse were equipped with measuring points about a week ago.
These are small boxes with sensors that are attached to the wall and record anonymized data about CO2 concentration, temperature and relative humidity and send it directly to the university.
The “classic window ventilation” is measured in the eight classrooms, as the two schools confirmed on request.
University hopes for answers: How effective is classic window ventilation?
The university, which, for example, also collects measurement data in classrooms in Murnau and Uffing, hopes to find answers to the questions of how often and for how long the classroom is ventilated, how effective the air exchange is, what influence the weather and season have on ventilation behavior and air exchange how great the secondary risk of infection is in connection with the data collected.
Answers to the questions of how much ventilation is sufficient in practice, how useful room air purifiers are and how they affect use in the classroom could be derived from this.
A final result cannot be expected anytime soon.
The research project is designed for twelve months.
However, the city of Penzberg expects a first interim result in September, as Mayor Korpan told the city council.
How does the city of Penzberg react? Decision at the end of September at the earliest
At the moment Korpan leaves it open whether the city will install air purifiers or ventilation systems for the schools where it is responsible for material expenses, i.e. the two elementary schools and the middle school. If the first data are available by the end of September, according to him, the city council will deal with it if necessary. According to Korpan, in addition to the question of the actual use of the expensive equipment, other questions also have to be answered, for example on the award criteria and the funding situation, which he currently considers difficult to assess. According to him, it is also unclear whether the installation is technically feasible. “Can 30 devices be installed in one fell swoop?” Asks Korpan, referring to the middle school where there were already power outages due to overload.There are 78 rooms in the two primary schools and in the middle school. In addition, the mayor said: “What about the kindergartens?” This question will certainly come up. If you add the daycare centers with their group and function rooms, you have a further 84 rooms.
In the city council, the mayor also referred to the debates in the district assemblies - the districts are responsible for high schools, secondary schools and special schools. In Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, the district council rejected the procurement of air purifiers for the time being. In Weilheim-Schongau he decided, as reported, to equip selected classrooms. A planner should check which rooms are poorly ventilated.