To combat the worldwide corona pandemic, the German Embassy School in Tehran relies on the globally proven TAC air purification technology from Trotec, which was specially flown in from Germany by air to protect the students and teachers.
Students at the German Embassy School in Tehran (DBST) are not familiar with changing classes or even school closures due to corona. The school, which has been designated as ‘’excellent school abroad’’ by the Central Agency for Schools Abroad, is one of the most modern educational institutions in Iran. In mixed-language (German and English) classes, around 370 students are taught by about 70 teachers, who provide pedagogical support and accompany them from the beginning of the first grade all the way to the international Abitur (A-Levels)
Safe classroom instruction in the midst of the corona pandemic is made possible by a sophisticated hygiene concept developed by German aerosol researcher Professor Dr. Christian Kähler at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich. The cornerstones of this hygiene concept for safe classroom teaching during the corona pandemic are TAC V+ high-performance air purifiers from the Heinsberg manufacturer Trotec.
Reliable protection against airborne transmission of the corona virus
Virus-laden aerosols, which according to the unanimous opinion of aerosol research, are responsible for more than 99 percent of all corona infections and float around in the classrooms for hours if ventilation is inadequate, are removed by the high-performance air purifiers with H14 HEPA filters (certified according to EN 1822) at a rate of 99.995 % from the room air. It takes just 6 to 15 minutes for a TAC V+, to halve the virus load in an 80 square meter area. In smaller rooms, the halving even takes place after just 3 minutes! Due to the continuous operation with high air circulation rates (approximately six times the room volume of a classroom), the virus load in the classroom is permanently kept at a low level, which means that airborne corona virus infections can be virtually ruled out.
In contrast to conventional air purifiers, which were mostly only designed to reduce dust, allergens or mould spores in the air, the development of the TAC high-performance air purifiers focused on avoiding airborne transmission of the corona virus. In the German-made air purifiers, aerosols contaminated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus are filtered out of the air highly effectively and also killed by thermal decontamination in the heat-resistant special filter. What sounds complicated takes place fully automatically in the evenings or after school hours. The mobile air filter then briefly heats the special filter to 100° C in order to destroy the viruses and bacteria that have been separated out in the filter. It does not matter whether the viruses in the air are the Delta or Omicron variant B.1.1.529. Unlike vaccine protection, which is mostly developed specifically for certain viruses, TAC Air Purifiers protect against all types of viruses and, in addition, against other pathogens that spread through the air.
Unrivalled level of protection for safe use in schools
Thanks to the filter decontamination technology, which is completely new in air purifiers, TAC room air purifiers guarantee a level of protection against infection with the corona virus that does beyond air filtration, for example, when the H14 HEPA particulate filter is changed at regular intervals or improperly operated. Even filters with long filter life are 100% germ-free after a thermal decontamination cycle and are uncomplicated to change by teaching staff or caretakers.
„Since the end of November (2020) we have been able to offer face-to-face classes for kindergartens and schools in a safe environment.“, says head teacher Harald Pröm, and he also added: „So far, no child has been infected at the school!“
A wide range of hygiene measures complete the infection control system
The hygiene concept at the DBST is sophisticated: as soon as they enter the school building, every child’s body temperature is measured with a thermal imaging camera. If a high temperature is detected, a trained paediatric nurse immediately intercepts the child and accompanies him or her to a hospital room set up specifically for suspected covid-19 cases.
TAC V+ high-performance air purifiers and acrylic glass partition walls with aerosol protection edge in all classrooms
The classrooms and the rooms of the school’s own kindergarten are equipped throughout with TAC V+ high-performance air purifiers to filter infectious aerosols, bacteria, viruses, poles, allergens and fine dusts from the room air.
The mobile Trotec Air Purifiers were ordered and airfreighted to Tehran by the school headteacher Harald Pröm. On one of his business trips, the educator had heard about studies according to which the indirect corona infection risk could be significantly reduced by using TAC V+ air purifiers. Research companies, universities such as the Goethe University in Frankfurt and, most notably, the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich tested the effectiveness of high-performance mobile air purifiers very early during the corona pandemic and provided scientific evidence of their effectiveness in protecting against corona infection. In a highly acclaimed study, aerosol researcher Professor Dr. Christian Kähler recommended – from a scientific point of view – the use of acrylic glass partition walls with aerosol protective edge and TAC V+ high-performance air purifiers, to enable largely safe face-to-face teaching in schools.
While partitions with a protective edge all around protect the students sitting next to or opposite each other from droplets and aerosols emitted at short distances, the aerosol-laden room air is permanently diluted with hygienically clean pure air through the use of the TAC V+ high-performance air purifiers. The high air performance of the devices ensures that infectious aerosol particles are quickly filtered in the special H14 HEPA filter (certified according to EN 1822), where the pathogens are subsequently killed by thermal decontamination. All of this happens almost unnoticed and without disturbing classroom communication. With a sound level of just 31 dB(A), a TAC high-performance air purifier is about as quiet as the ticking of a wristwatch, while road traffic noise – caused by open windows – can reach a sound level of up to 65 dB (A).
The hygiene concept of the Embassy School is completed by a general obligation to wear masks, the formation of cohorts, individual start and break times, and lunch in the classrooms to ensure a clear separation of student groups. Parents do not have to enter the school building.
Exemplary use of technical infection control solutions
Head teacher Pröm is impressed with the technical possibilities to prevent the spread of the covid 19 pathogen. All water taps have been replaced and equipped with sensors so that the taps no longer have to be touched when the water is drawn. If, despite all measures, a child shows symptoms of a cold and needs to be isolated in quarantine, he or she can follow the lessons live from home. All classrooms are equipped with the latest hybrid technology (cameras and microphones).
The German Embassy School in Tehran impressively demonstrates how appropriate measures and technical solutions for infection control can provide full protection for children and teachers in face-to-face lessons. The Central Agency for Schools Abroad even advertises the exemplary hygiene concept of the German Embassy School with a message on its own homepage. Meanwhile, schools in Germany still lack a viable concept for reliable teaching during the pandemic.
Do you already know our ‘’Guide to safe school teaching’’?
Find out how to implement a safe hygiene concept for schools in our ‘’Guide to safe school teaching“. The guidebook contains a ‘’how-to’’ for the implementation of recommended hygiene concepts for schools, scientifically proven facts on the risks of infections in the classroom and technical solutions to reduce the risk of infection in the classroom to a minimum.
TAC high-performance air purifiers – mobile or stationary infection control
With the high-performance air cleaner of the TAC series, Trotec offers professional solutions for aerosol-free filtered clean air quality in schools, day-care centres and other educational institutions. By providing virus-filtered clean air, TAC high-performance air purifiers ensure a high level of protection for pupils of all year groups as well as teaching staff – regardless of vaccination status and dominant virus variants.
Five models in two device variants – each with proven effectiveness in virus filtration by the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich (Professor Christian Kähler) – make the TAC series a flexible and scalable air purification solution for schools and day-care centres.
- Extremely robust construction for professional use
- High flexibility of use due to mobility; simply set up where a high level of protection against airborne risks is required
- Air volume up to 2,100 m³
- H14 high-performance HEPA filter according to EN 1822
- Constant air volume flow, even with increasing filter contamination
- Fully automatic operation through flexible programming
- Sensor-controlled filter change indicator (pre-filter and main filter) for longer filter service life
- Low noise level, 31 db(A)
- Made in Germany
Exclusive to the TAC V+ and TAC XT:
- Filter decontamination for more safety
- Filter regeneration for more hygiene
- Lowest long-term maintenance costs due to thermal filter treatment
- Longer filter service life, fewer filter changes
All high-performance air purifiers of the TAC series are currently wither available or can be delivered within a very short time. The eligible high-performance air purifiers can be ordered conveniently in the Trotec Online Shop, in the physical Trotec shop in Heinsberg or by telephone from the Trotec team of experts for air cleaning.
Our air purification experts will be happy to advise you personally on infection control solutions from Trotec:
+49 2452 962-400
online-uk@trotec.com
