Teachers, administrators, and parents can consider a range of change options from base minimum to advanced recommendations to improve IAQ, all under the guidance of a licensed, certified ventilation professional. They don’t have to know much about indoor air quality to take the first steps, said Catherine Tinkler, a former classroom teacher and administrator who now serves as a strategic planning consultant and commissioning professional for Page Southerland Page and a member of the ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.7 – Education Facilities working group. A certified and licensed professional is closer than many decision makers may realize.

“This guidance walks them through some prerequisites for what they should understand before they start,” Tinkler said. Partnering with a skilled, trained, and certified ventilation expert at the beginning of the process is integral to how the rest of the guide is used. It also gives them guidance using a defined rubric, so they can score their environment to see if it meets the base minimums, almost like a pass-fail. Then, it recommends tasks to complete, including high and very high priority tasks, to improve the score and the environment.”

Raj Setty, president of Setty, a full-service mechanical, electrical and plumbing consulting engineering firm and co-author of the guide, said while scientists did a good job telling us what needs to be done to prevent the spread of disease — improving ventilation, filtration, and airflow — it is now the purvey of consulting HVAC engineers to tell the public how to implement this advice with their specific use cases.

The guide does just that. Once a school has a ventilation verification assessment performed and educators meet with a design professional to assess their system and determine their needs, they can use the guide for simple tasks, such as determining what temperature and weather conditions to open windows; calculating which air filters to use; learning when to open and close dampers due to outdoor air quality; and planning placement and proper use of carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors, air cleaners, and UV-C in their classrooms. The ventilation professional can help determine if these fixes are enough, or if upgrades or repairs to the HVAC system are also warranted. Flexibility, especially in an environment as dynamic as a school, is optimal, Setty said.

“It’s really about putting the systems in place to give operators the option,” he said. “It’s a common-sense guide.”

Knowledge is power. The guide not only gives educators a roadmap to use when sitting down with their ventilation professional, it helps them make educated decisions about their classrooms’ indoor air quality at any point during the day.

“The guide gives schools a tool to help them determine their risk. It helps to identify the problem and allow clients to make choices,” said Chris Ruch, director of education, NEMIC, co-author of the guide, and former classroom teacher. “This guide will help customers be better informed when they meet with contractors and design professionals and help them understand more about the air they breathe.”

For more information, visit nemionline.org.