In an innovative pilot project in Romania, Wolf-e Robotics has joined an interdisciplinary research initiative with the goal of raising the standard of the indoor environment in educational facilities. The “Healthy and Efficient Schools” program aims to analyze and implement effective solutions to ensure indoor air quality, thermal, acoustic, and visual comfort. The project also considers energy efficiency as well as the safety of the building in the event of an earthquake or fire. Clean air in schools!
Why is this program important?
With the most crowded indoor spaces compared to any other building in the world, schools can be considered as second home. It is important to have clean air in schools! Such a high occupancy rate obliges us to respect a vital condition: the indoor environment of schools should not negatively affect the comfort, health, or intellectual performance of the occupants. However, in 98% of schools in Romania, the main source of air is obtained only by opening the window! A “healthy” school should have a permanent flow of fresh filtered air, a comfortable temperature, an optimal level of lighting, and acoustics. And all of this with energy-efficient solutions that reduce the building’s carbon emissions.
It is scientifically proven that intellectual performances are affected by the environment in which we learn. The number of children with health problems caused by poor indoor air quality is often underestimated worldwide. Recent studies by ISAAC (International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication) have shown that asthma has become the main chronic respiratory condition in children. Seasonal viruses, flu, viruses (including Sars-COV 2) have the highest rate of spread and infection in classrooms. Dust, volatile organic compounds (lacquers that cover school furniture and flooring, formaldehyde, benzene), radon (colorless/odorless carcinogenic gas), carbon dioxide, humidity outside permissible limits can affect children’s health.
To counteract these problems, special attention must be paid to ensure that students and teachers can breathe healthy air in classrooms. And the indoor air quality in schools can only be properly ensured by implementing adequate ventilation and air disinfection systems to maintain indoor concentrations of CO2, humidity, pollutants, dust, airborne viruses, and bacteria at the lowest possible levels.
One of the program’s stages, which will be implemented this year, involves conducting a scientific and technical-economic study on various types of ventilation systems adapted to classrooms, within a pilot school in sector 2, Bucharest.
A key point is ensuring air quality and reducing the risk of infection with pathogenic germs. And one of the methods being considered is air purifiers and disinfection devices, which help eliminate viruses, allergens, aerosols, and pollutants, providing instantly cleaner and healthier air. These can include a UV module for 99.9% virus destruction (including SARS-CoV-2).
Wolf-e Robotics emphasizes, on this occasion, the advantages of using ultraviolet light disinfection in educational institutions. For clean air in schools! For efficient schools!
Firstly, because this type of disinfection is free of chemicals. No chemicals are sprayed, so there are no chemical residues left on desks or other surfaces. This makes UV one of the safest methods of disinfection for staff and students, with no impact on underlying health conditions such as asthma.
Secondly, because it is a quick and effortless method. Using a UV-C sterilizer involves very little or no manual labor. UV disinfection can be carried out as frequently as necessary both pointwise and continuously, depending on the Wolf-e Robotics devices used. Classrooms, corridors, and bathrooms can be sterilized continuously or pointwise at the end of the program, for example, every evening after the children/staff have gone home, if desired, so that classrooms can be disinfected for the following day.
Thirdly and finally, UV sterilization is cost-effective. If we consider the cost of organizing monthly disinfection services using germicidal substances, for example, a school could spend the same amount of money on a year’s worth of substances, while for the same amount, it could have daily disinfection for over 3 years using a UV sterilizer. For efficient schools.
Therefore, the involvement of Wolf-e Robotics, as the first Romanian producer of smart devices and mobile/autonomous robots for UV-C light-based hygiene, disinfection, and air/surface purification, is essential! The quality of indoor air in classrooms can only be ensured correctly by implementing appropriate ventilation, purification, and disinfection systems and devices in the respective spaces and mode of use. The UV light devices that the Romanian manufacturer makes available to schools can be used for this purpose in two different ways. One can kill microorganisms on the surfaces of benches, chairs, and equipment, while the other can ensure air disinfection.
For example, Wolf-BEAM UV germicidal UV devices placed at the top of the rooms are 10 times more effective than mechanical ventilation. They use a well-proven and safe technology for controlling infections and pathogens in the air. Mixing the air and its dynamics between the upper and lower layers within the classrooms, assisted by the production of warm air resulting from the occupants’ breathing, results in high rates of air disinfection in the lower, effectively occupied part. In addition, the Romanian manufacturer uses a wireless sensor system that collects information on temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels, providing real-time monitoring of air quality.
Within the pilot project, Wolf-e Robotics will provide both dedicated equipment, i.e., UV air purification/disinfection systems, as well as sensors and measurement equipment, i.e., intelligent indoor physical parameter measuring and data acquisition equipment for live online transmission.
Our disinfection, filtration, and purification systems with UV-C light enhance safety and reduce the risk of infection in educational institutions, workplaces, and clinical environments. We have combined the UV-C disinfection used in clinical environments with modern technologies to create a continuously functioning ecosystem that disinfects the air and surfaces in real-time in business buildings. Our products offer a holistic solution that can address any use case and can be combined to form a customized solution tailored to any indoor space. We are talking about bactericidal UV lamps placed at the top of the rooms, UVC systems for HVAC/air handling units, mobile and autonomous robots for air and surface disinfection, as well as smart equipment that can be used in the presence of people and ensure the persistence of disinfection to the highest quality standards.
To put it differently, we have the capability to go to any physical location, gather essential information regarding the attributes and operations of the building, and create a customized solution that optimizes the reduction of risk in that specific area. Ultimately, the individuals residing in that space will encounter significant enhancements in their well-being due to high effectiveness.
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We are Wolf-e Robotics, and every day we work to support our mission of disinfecting the air and surfaces in the places where we work, learn, and spend our time. Through disinfection with intelligent UVC light equipment and mobile robots, we provide the most efficient and environmentally friendly method of inactivating microorganisms on surfaces and in the air. With applicability in the medical, commercial, transportation, education, and corporate sectors.
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