Indoor Air Quality
PHOTO © GAUDILAB
Clean the air, save money. Sounds
simple, but how? The best way to
keep your air clean is to not let it
become dirty in the first place. This
means prevention by identifying,
stopping or controlling sources such
as idling vehicles; lack of proper entry
matting, particles from poorly filtered
vacuums or HVAC systems; chemical
VOCs from building, furnishing or
cleaning materials; fragrances in products
or on people and poorly sealed
or insulated buildings.
It also means ensuring ventilation in
a manner that does not inflate energy
costs, either on a room-by-room basis
via a central HVAC system or using a
Heat Recovery or Energy Recovery
Ventilator (HRV or ERV). Still, the cost
of energy is less than the cost of an absent teacher or student.
Per Jeff May in his book, My Office
is Killing Me, “One indoor air quality
professional estimates that the annual
cost of an employee is about 100 times
greater than the energy cost to keep a
building heated, cooled and ventilated
for that one person. If an employer
saves an energy cost of $1 a day by
reducing the ventilation in a building,
and an employee who is paid $100 a
day misses a day of work because of
illness, the employer’s net loss is $99
(the salary is paid to the employee even
if he or she is out sick).”
The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) cites increases in Average Daily
Attendance (ADA) as a main benefit to
schools with better indoor air quality:
“The majority of a school’s operating
budget is directly dependent on ADA, so
even a small increase can significantly
boost the operating budget.”
Evidence shows a clear association
between IAQ and respiratory ills, including
asthma. Per the CDC, asthma is
a leading cause of school absenteeism.
Per the Connecticut Foundation for
Environmentally Safe Schools: “Lockport
Township High School in Lockport,
Ill., reported a three percent increase
in the average daily attendance
after the first year of implementing an
Indoor Air Quality Management Plan.”
“Schools in Syracuse, N.Y., documented
gains in attendance of 11.7
percent, which yielded added state
funding of $2,512,250.00 the first year
after using a cleaning for health regime.
The school district’s use of highefficiency
filter backpack vacuuming,
systematic disinfecting of desks and
surfaces were among the measures
used in the program.”
Per the EPA: “Evidence continues to
mount demonstrating that indoor air
quality, or IAQ, directly impacts student
academic performance and health.”
“In one study, students in classrooms
with higher outdoor air ventilation
rates scored 14 to 15 percent
higher on standardized test scores
than children in classrooms with lower
outdoor air ventilation rates.”
“Studies demonstrate that improved
IAQ increases productivity and improves
the performance of mental tasks, such
as improved concentration and recall in
both adults and children.”
William J. Fisk, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, estimated fiscal gains of better indoor air quality amounted to savings “of $6 to $14 billion from reduced respiratory disease; $2 to $4 billion from reduced allergies and asthma; $15 to $40 billion from reduced symptoms of sick building syndrome; and $20 to $200 billion from direct improvements in worker performance…” and that “potential financial benefits of improving indoor environments exceed costs by factors of 9 and 14.”
This article originally appeared in the issue of .