Greenfield Public Schools Prioritizes Indoor Air Quality

Greenfield Public Schools, Mass.

Massachusetts' Greenfield Public Schools took steps to install in-space HEPA air filtration in key campus locations that serve as high-traffic gathering zones for students and teachers. According to Greenfield's facilities director Alan Schmidt, the supplemental ISO-Aire air purifiers built with commercial-grade HEPA filtration work to keep the air healthy and clean particularly in the school buildings' larger spaces.

"We see the commercial units as a good fit for cleaning the air in cafeterias, gyms, libraries, really those larger school spaces," Schmidt explained. "The ceilings in our performing arts room are 12-foot in height, so once band practice resumes we will have a unit placed there, too. The purifiers are well-built with 22-gauge steel, so they'll take a licking in the cafeteria or gym where a little plastic unit wouldn't work."

Both the CDC and ASHRAE recommend in-space, supplemental HEPA filtration in schools and child care centers to protect against transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other airborne pathogens. "Our nurses really like the HEPA units," Schmidt noted. "And our facilities team likes that they're built on casters, so they're easy to get in and out of a space. Overall, this is a well-thought-out, well-engineered product."

Schmidt and his team installed 21 ISO-Aire units last winter throughout six Greenfield schools including elementary, middle, and a high school. Their commercial-grade RSF1000 models are engineered with 12-inch deep, medical-grade HEPA filters that capture 99.99% of airborne viruses and emerging variants as well as bacteria, mold, pollen, dust, and indoor pollutants.