Case studies Zapresic - Smart Air Quality Monitoring in Schools

„We aim to provide each child with a healthy indoor environment in child care facilities, kindergartens, schools and public recreational settings…“. These are the words in which ministers and state representatives of the European Region of the WHO have signed their commitment to improve air quality in children-related public institutions. A research conducted in Croatian schools and led by Croatian Institute of Public Health, serves as a proof that initiative for improving air quality in schools is necessary. In it, it was shown that in large number of classrooms (97,98%) concetration of CO₂ was at levels high enough to decrease concentration and cognitive abilities of the pupils.

As part of CARNET's e-Schools project, Smart Sense has participated in the development and deployment of AERO – the smart indoor air quality system, used in number of Croatian schools. The goal of AERO is to improve indoor air quality in schools and, subsequently, to optimize learning environment for pupils. Smart Sense Indoor device - My Sensees measures air quality parameters like CO₂ concentration, particles (PM1.0, PM2.5, PM10), temperature and relative humidity. Also, it enables integration of additional sensors, e.g. particles, light, VOCs, etc.

Measured data is being sent to central cloud implemented by CARNET – Croatian Academic and Research Network. Real-time monitoring of air quality in classrooms is enabled via mobile and web application, along with data analysis of recorded air quality parameters leading to better understanding and management of indoor air quality trends.

The City of Zaprešić, a town in Zagreb County, was the first city in Croatia that recognized the importance of clean air in schools and decided to invest in cleaner and brighter future. Two of it's elementary schools started to monitor air quality in classrooms in 2017, at the very beginning of the AERO. It is expected that, in the next phase of the project, Public Health Institution of Zagreb County will contribute in data analysis and setting up recommendations for better air quality management in these schools. We are very proud to be a part of AERO and we will continue to passionately promote importance of indoor air quality, especially in schools.