Clean air for Berlin’s schools

Berlin/Aachen/Essen. 25 schools in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district of Berlin have been equipped with air purification units of type “VIRUSPROTECT”. The devices have been developed and are manufactured by the Aachen-based STEAG subsidiary Krantz, a specialist for waste air systems and air cleaning. The especially quiet, energy-efficient and mobile units are highly effective, particularly in combatting the coronavirus which is currently on the rampage.

In the coming weeks, when a gradual return of schools to face-to-face teaching may occur in view of declining infection figures, highly effective and at the same time energy-efficient air purification devices from Krantz will provide an important added quality in health protection in 25 schools in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Highly effective against all types of microorganisms
This is because the device by means of highly effective H14 HEPA filter elements is able to filter out 99.995 percent of all microorganisms from the room air and render them harmless; this applies to spores, allergens, germs and seasonal flu viruses as well as, in particular, to the currently circulating variants of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen.

“The device is designed for rooms up to 120 square meters in size,” says Norbert Schröder, managing director of Krantz GmbH. With the Krantz VIRUSPROTECT, the microorganisms are not eliminated from the indoor air by means of UV radiation, heat or ozone, but purely passively by means of the patented antiviral coating inside the device. “Therefore, the device does not release any heat or substances hazardous to health even during operation, and is very quiet at the same time,” says Norbert Schröder.

Robust, mobile and energy-efficient
These properties make the Krantz VIRUSPROTECT the ideal solution for use in hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, old people’s homes, the catering trade – and especially schools, because: “The unit is characterized by a particularly stable and indeed robust design and can also be used as a mobile unit at any household power socket,” says Hans Felser, who, as head of the Filter & Damper Systems division at Krantz, was also responsible for the technical development of the Krantz VIRUSPROTECT. In addition, the device, which is designed for continuous operation, is characterized by very low power consumption due to its passive mode of operation: “The energy costs per device and year are only about 50 euros,” says Hans Felser, who is pleased that the Krantz VIRUSPROTECT was also able to win over the district council of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf with these facts in the bidding process.

Support on the way back to normality
That assessment does not come as a surprise to those responsible at Krantz: “We know the market and the products from our competitors, and in this respect we also know how to assess our own unit correctly,” says Norbert Schröder: “In the form of the VIRUSPROTECT, we are offering a high-quality product, by all objective standards.” If there are gradual reversals of the current corona-related restrictions to public life in the coming months, back-up measures will be needed to avoid an otherwise threatening third wave of the corona pandemic: “The VIRUSPROTECT can help to ensure that a cautious return to normality can succeed not only in schools, but also in the retail trade, the catering business and other sectors of public life,” Norbert Schröder is convinced.