Schools and colleges can benefit from £3.5m clean air fund

Schools and colleges hoping to improve their air quality and energy efficiency can now apply for part of a £3.5m ‘Clean Air as a Service’ fund from Energys Group.

All educational establishments are eligible and if successful will have Goji Air purification technologies installed, which converts pollutants and carcinogenic waste into water and carbon dioxide.

Repayment costs are estimated to be as little as 5p a day per pupil based on a five-year agreement and could deliver a range of benefits including lower rates of illness and absenteeism, higher productivity and better peace of mind.

‘The Covid-19 Pandemic has led to a paradigm shift in attitudes towards indoor air quality,’ said Kevin Cox, CEO at Energys Group. ‘Last Autumn, we saw two things happening in the school’s market. Our customers were already struggling to cope with the rising cost of energy in a volatile market, whist Covid safety concerns led to national guidance that “open windows” meant “safer spaces”.

‘Of course, the truth is, open windows do not necessarily result in “safer environments”. Plus, of course, it creates a massive additional demand for space heating – and this is something most schools and colleges can ill afford.’

The firm has seen a significant increase in interest in clean air management, but the rise in energy prices has left schools and colleges unable to invest in effective technologies.

It’s hoped the Clean Air as a Service model will allow more educational establishments to access cleaner air and energy efficient buildings.

Energys Group is well known for its installation of energy efficient retrofit technologies, such as LED lighting and low carbon heating.

It’s Goji Air technology has been proven in laboratory conditions to minimise the transmission of airborne viruses, such as the flu and Covid-19 with 99.95% efficiency.

UK schools have been revealed to suffer from air pollution, with 97% of those monitored by Airly in the #LetSchoolsBreathe project found to have levels of PM2.5 exceededing the safe norms set out by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Poor air quality has been directly linked to significant health problems, with research identifying a link between air pollution and poor lung function in young adults.

Photo by Kenny Eliason