How Syracuse City School District Implemented an Air Purification Program
Putting our community first.
Over the past year, the spotlight has turned towards the indoor spaces that we occupy the most – the top of the list? Our schools. The COVID-19 pandemic offered one positive… It brought to light that many spaces, including schools, don’t have the proper ventilation systems to deal with airborne indoor air quality issues. As a response, schools began looking into high-efficiency filtration, increased ventilation, and/or the use of portable air purifiers.
When it comes to COVID-19, people are the source of the pollutant. Multiple teachers and students in a small space like a classroom with little ventilation heightened the risk for the spread of COVID-19.
Syracuse City School District has hundreds of classrooms and many important gathering spaces such as cafeterias, gymnasiums, auditoriums, and lecture halls. In order to improve indoor air quality for all indoor air quality challenges, the school district looked to HealthWay.
“I was very confident that we had good air quality inside of our buildings, but we wanted to make sure that our staff and families felt comfortable.” - Jaime Alicia, Superintendent, Syracuse City School District
The decision to implement air purifiers was part of an overall infectious disease plan including surface cleaning, social distancing, and masking. This plan was put in place to help protect students, teachers, and staff.
In addition to installing air purification systems, the SCSD has modified it’s HVAC operations to provide for more fresh air coming into buildings in compliance with CDC guidelines. They have also increased the frequency in which they cleaned replace filters within their HVAC systems.
The solution implemented for SCSD.
Over the course of a couple of weeks HealthWay made recommendations for air purifiers throughout each classroom in the district. The SCSD implemented two Compact units per classroom. Each of the two units were mounted on opposite sides off the classroom to help reduce the particle load within the space and to provide extra air changes per hour. By using two Compact units per classroom this also helped reduce the noise level so it wouldn’t be counterintuitive to the learning environment.
The SCSD has continued to lead the way by implementing a robust safety plan to combat the spread of airborne diseases like COVID-19 in their classrooms. As more students and teachers return to school across the county, they are looking to HealthWay to continue providing a solution for a safer learning environment.
The Compact unit has 4 fan speeds and is built with our patented DFS technology. It removes particles as small as .007 microns in size and removes up to 99.99% of airborne mold, bacteria, and viruses passing through the system. The Compact is ultra-quiet with a noise range of 40-60dB which makes it perfect for a classroom setting. Its power consumption is as low as 9 watts.
The final outcome, a year later.
HealthWay air purifiers continue to be added to various facilities around the school district (July 2021) to help improve the overall safety and wellbeing of students, teachers, and staff. Not only will HealthWays’ air purifiers help reduce the spread of airborne diseases, but they will help create a safer and more productive learning environment.
Looking for air purification for your schools?
At HealthWay, we are working to make the world a better, safer place. We’re looking forward to serving you and helping to solve your indoor air quality challenge. If you haven’t found what you’re looking for, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. Fill out our online form, or feel free to give us a call. Our standard business hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm EST, Monday-Friday.
