INDIANAPOLIS — Carrier announced that California’s Alvord Unified School District will install 1,500 Carrier OptiClean™ 1,500 cfm Dual-Mode Air Scrubber & Negative Air Machines to purify the air in classrooms across its 23 schools.
To help ensure the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff as they return to campuses in Riverside County, California, the school district worked with Climatec LLC, a building solutions consultant, to select OptiClean as the preferred solution to enhance its IAQ and help ensure a healthy indoor environment for its nearly 20,000 students and staff. Carrier is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, a global provider of innovative HVACR, fire, security, and building automation technologies.
“Many schools and school districts are facing uncertainty with how to welcome back students, teachers, and staff safely,” said Justin Keppy, president, NA Residential& Light Commercial, Carrier. “We’re pleased to work with the Alvord Unified School
District and provide a piece of the puzzle to enhance indoor air quality and help slow the spread of COVID-19. Our OptiClean units can help reduce contaminants like the novel coronavirus from classroom air, and, when coupled with mitigation best practices, such as frequent hand washing, social distancing, use of face coverings, and more, reduce risks to students, teachers, and school staff.”
The Carrier OptiClean units, which are available in 500- and 1,500-cfm models, plug into a standard wall outlet and use a 99.97% efficient, long-life HEPA filter to remove contaminants as small as 0.3 microns and discharge cleaner air back into the room. Notably, OptiClean units exceed the minimum standard of two air changes per hour for portable electric HEPA machines recommended by ASHRAE® in school reopenings.*
“The safety and welfare of our students and staff is our primary concern as we prepare our facilities for their return,” said Kevin Emenaker, executive director, administrative services, Alvord Unified School District. “We looked at a number of indoor air quality solutions and we felt that the OptiClean product was best-suited for our needs. Based on the features and benefits offered by the OptiClean unit, we feel that these will be effective in providing peace of mind to our students, staff and their parents.”
OptiClean units are portable, taking only about 3 square feet of floor space when oriented vertically, and can also be operated horizontally, allowing for convenient, unobstructed placement in classrooms, cafeterias, libraries, or gymnasiums. One 500-cfm unit can adequately clean the air in a typical classroom; the new 1,500-cfm unit is designed for larger spaces. In both cases, multiple units can be used for more expansive spaces.
“OptiClean units are highly effective against contaminants,” said Tyler Girtman, regional manager, Climatec LLC. “Plus, the ease-of-use and portability allows them to quickly and efficiently be deployed in a number of spatial configurations as the needs arise.”
OptiClean is one of a number of solutions offered through Carrier's Healthy Buildings Program that can aid school districts in enhancing indoor air quality. Other product features and upgrades include filters with high MERV ratings; UV lights; Agion® anti-microbial coating, which can be applied to protect against bacterial growth; economizers; and a Humidi-MiZer® dehumidification system. For more information, visit www.corporate.carrier.com/healthybuildings.
