University and Higher Education

CO2 Ampel helps universities to remain a place of exchanging ideas

Universities want their students to learn as pleasantly and efficiently as possible. They want to provide them with rooms in which knowledge is imparted to them and in which they can exchange ideas with like-minded people or with experts in their field. What must not happen is that the study rooms in the universities become Corona hotspots during the pandemic. As a result, most universities have switched to hybrid semesters and restricted face-to-face teaching. Strict protection against infection applies to the face-to-face events that take place anyway and operate in the university libraries to prevent the virus from spreading.

Infection protection is very important at universities

To protect yourself against infection with the virus, measures such as social distancing and wearing a face mask must be followed at universities. Correct ventilation also plays a central role in the classrooms - in the fight against aerosols. Since the aerosols stay in the air for a comparatively long time, it is of enormous importance to bring as much outside air as possible into the occupied rooms. Due to the current situation, it is advisable to open all windows in offices and meeting rooms continuously or at an increased rate for around three to ten minutes, every 20 minutes. With this ventilation, the aerosols are to be distributed. The disadvantage: constant ventilation, especially when the outside temperature is cold, results in the students as well as the teaching staff and administrative employees in the university complex freezing. Gone is a pleasant atmosphere while learning and exchanging ideas.

Dispensing ventilation is currently not an option and represents an important part of hygiene measures. But does it have to be such strict timing that leads to icy cold rooms? After all, freezing students get sick more quickly, and it is difficult to absorb the learning material properly in such cold weather. Another important question in this context is: How do I know whether the duration and the time interval between the ventilation periods are sufficient to effectively combat the aerosols?

That’s how you ventilate efficiently

The CO2 Ampel provides this evidence by measuring the carbon dioxide concentration in the lecture hall. The connection between the concentration of carbon dioxide and aerosols in the air is scientifically proven. This means that professors and students can see at a glance whether there is too much CO2 and with that too many aerosols in the room. Once the CO2 Ampel lights up red, it is urgently time to ventilate or to leave the room. It gives the all-clear with the green light and announces an impending danger with the yellow colour.

This simple colour scheme gives those present in the university rooms information at a glance whether they are safe or need to act. It, therefore, represents an essential factor within the infection protection in universities. The CO2 Ampel helps in combination with the efficient ventilation and the other hygiene measures that universities can continue to be a place of exchange.

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