Gyeonggi Province Upgrades Elementary School Classrooms with Multi-Function Air Purification Devices

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun, Reporter] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 17th that it will install ‘multi-function air purification devices’ at five elementary schools in the province, including Seoho Elementary School in Suwon, to simultaneously reduce fine dust and viruses while verifying their performance.

Following the 2019 amendment to the ‘School Health Act,’ air purifiers were installed in each classroom. However, some schools failed to operate them properly due to infectious disease transmission concerns.

Additionally, existing air purifiers only had fine dust removal functions, which created the inconvenience of having to open windows separately for ventilation even on days with high fine dust concentrations.

These devices have the capability to reduce not only fine dust but also various airborne pathogens such as viruses and bacteria.

At the same time, they feature ‘clean ventilation’ that allows for air exchange without opening windows and a ‘heat recovery ventilator’ that minimizes changes in indoor temperature settings, thereby minimizing energy loss.

The fine dust filter consists of a pre-filter that removes large dust particles, a HEPA filter that removes ultra-fine dust, and an antibacterial filter that traps airborne bacteria.

In filter product performance tests conducted by a certified test institution (Fiti Test & Research Institute), the filter demonstrated high efficiency by removing fine dust at a rate of 98.6% or higher.

Additionally, the UV-LED device that reduces viruses and bacteria demonstrated through module testing the capability to remove 90% or more of airborne pathogens.

A special motor installed inside the device enables the air purification device to maintain strong performance while operating at low noise levels of 50dB or below, ensuring that noise does not interfere with students’ studies.

In addition, with a simple design that prioritizes safety, window-type and stand-type units can be installed to suit classroom conditions.

The province plans to begin full-scale expansion of school distribution in cooperation with the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education according to the results, once performance verification is completed.

Teacher A at Taebong Elementary School in Pocheon said, “Thanks to the air purification device installed by Gyeonggi Province, we can ventilate with clean air without opening windows even on days with severe fine dust,” and added, “I hope the device will be installed in other schools so that children can attend school with peace of mind.”

Park Seong-nam, Director of the Environmental Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, “We will do our best to successfully carry out the multi-function air purification device demonstration project so that distribution to all schools can expand.”