Ventilation in kindergartens

Children are more sensitive to external stimuli and more responsive to any uncomfortable conditions. Therefore, a healthy microclimate in kindergarten is the number one priority.

What threatens the lack of forced ventilation in schools?

Kindergarten air exchange is far from normal: usually five times less than required. Kindergartens are forced to open their windows in order to somehow resolve the situation. Accordingly, they waste precious heat, actually throwing away the money spent on space heating.

That is why energy auditors consider the lack of ventilation to be the biggest drawback of kindergartens. As a result, the windows become “sweaty” and fungus appears on the walls. This, in turn, destroys the building and worsens the well-being of children.

Lack of fresh air causes children frequent illnesses and exacerbation of chronic allergic reactions.

• Without effective air exchange, viruses entering the room will circulate, multiply and be transmitted from one child to another.
• Without indoor air circulation, the level of oxygen will gradually reduce, which will also weaken the child’s body during the period of viral danger.
• Open windows (as an alternative to no ventilation) create drafts, which is also dangerous to health.
• In rooms that are not ventilated, children have developmental delays, lethargy and apathy. This can lead to the syndrome of constant fatigue.

Most kindergartens do not have forced ventilation

The State Building Standards of Ukraine for the construction of buildings and structures of children’s preschool institutions provide for the mandatory installation of exhaust shafts in toilets and kitchens. It is also recommended to install forced supply and exhaust ventilation.

However, most kindergartens have only natural ventilation, which means the air enters through cracks in windows, doors and roofs. Due to the fact that plastic airtight windows are being installed more and more often in kindergartens, the effect of natural ventilation is practically eliminated. That is why forced ventilation is mandatory.

Fresh air in kindergartens is not a luxury, but a vital necessity

Since preschools are crowded places, it is important to ventilate them. And here natural ventilation (central exhaust shafts and open windows) is not enough.

Artificial supply and exhaust ventilation is designed in kitchens, toilets and laundries.

How to arrange ventilation in kindergartens?

1. Before you decide to buy a recuperator, pay attention to the preparatory process of choosing a vent. Consider the functional purpose of the room: bedroom, game room, kitchen, wardrobe, bathroom. It is important to understand in which rooms and how much time children spend.

2. The volume of air exchange per hour in kindergartens is calculated depending on the volume of the room. This takes into account the special coefficient provided by state building codes.

S * h * k = m3/h

For example, if the game room has an area of 50m² and a height of 3m, then one hour requires 225 m3 / h of fresh air.

3. It is forbidden to install transit air ducts through bedrooms and game rooms.

Supply and exhaust ventilation with heat recovery

The function of the ventilation system in the kindergarten is to replace the polluted air with fresh air in a timely and necessary manner. Ventilation can be exhaust (able to operate only under leaky windows) or supply and exhaust. In the second case, the design of ventilation and heating is often carried out taking into account the possibility of heat recovery: the exhaust air passes near the supply channel, giving it part of the heat. Last but not least is the quality of the heat exchanger. It is best if the heat exchanger is plate-type and made of copper.

Experts recommend installing recuperators as the most energy-efficient solution in ventilation. Of course, the organization of the ventilation system is a strategic decision: it is necessary to make a project, buy recuperators, install systems. However, the benefits of using the recuperator are felt in the first years of operation: the air is always fresh, heat loss is significantly reduced, and children are less sick during the epidemiological period.