“Enhance the ventilation of the buildingThis is one of the measures of the Level Two Health Protocol that the Minister of National Education presented on Thursday, August 26 to start the school year. Jean-Michel Blanquer says he wants CircularCO2 sensor installation In classes to measure the concentration of carbon dioxide in the room. Expensive equipment, which few Alsatian municipalities can afford.
Big cost to municipalities
The carbon dioxide detector measures the level of carbon dioxide concentration as a function ofThreshold: 800ppm (parts per million), defined by Supreme Council of Public Health, last May. Further, a red light is displayed, after which the room must be ventilated for at least five minutes.
The hardware works as gauges but comes at a cost: From 40 to 350 euros per unit. Hœnheim, north of Strasbourg, purchased 45 carbon dioxide detectors to equip its classes. The equipment has a total cost of 15,000 euros. “These are costs that fall to the local authorities every timeThe Mayor, Vincent Debes, announces, And they will need help from the state.”
This assistance is not on the agenda at the moment. The neighboring municipality of Oberhausbergen has also invested in hardware, but they remain exceptions in Alsace. “In the current state of the information I have, there are more municipalities that you don’t talk about than municipalities that you want to put into practice.,” notes Vincent Debes, who is also president of the Paz-Rhin Mayors Association, which has 526 councilors.
portable detectors
Other cities are considering another formula. Not every category is equipped with CO2 detectors but Alternating between schools. Such is the case in Haguenau, where sixteen of the 110 classes will accommodate three mobile detectors. “We will not systematically equip the classrooms, because most of them are equipped with VMC. It must make it possible to reach the recommendations for air renewalClaude Stourney, Mayor of the city, details.
Strasbourg also made this choice. Illkirch, Colmar or Sélestat do not plan to install CO2 detectors. Obernai works without it too and relies on a more advanced ventilation system via ventilation holes. Mulhouse did not want to talk about her decision at the moment.
open windows
These carbon dioxide detectors are intended above all to alert teachers to the amount of carbon dioxide in the room. If it exceeds 800 ppm, windows should be opened. “If it’s just about watching teachers, that’s stupid…, Breathing Hughes Felger, a psychiatrist in Strasbourg, It’s a matter of trust, if people are breathing regularly, no problem, if they don’t… you need an extra sensor to remind them to order. “
Opening classroom windows is not always so easy. Some schools are located near a road, an area under construction and the upcoming winter season could also be a game changer.