Wednesday, 29 December 2021 | 12.3°C Dublin

Breda O'Dwyer principal of Sliabh a Mhadra

Sliabh a Mhadra National School in Ballyduff Co Kerry gets kittted out with new Air Purifiers this week . Pictured L/R Breda O'Dwyer principal of Sliabh a Mhadra and Annmarie Sheehy who sponsored the units .. Daikin’s air purifiers eliminate more than 99.98% the human coronavirus HCoV-229E in 2.5 minutes*. This virus is of the same family as SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic. . Contact : Breda O'Dwyer principal of Sliabh a Mhadra National School in Ballyduff Her mobile is (086)1967775, school number is (066)7131742. Photo By : Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD . Domnick Walsh Photographer is an Irish Aviation Authority ( IAA ) approved Quadcopter Pilot. Tralee Co Kerry Ireland. Mobile Phone : 00 353 87 26 72 033 Land Line : 00 353 66 71 22 981 E/Mail : info@dwalshphoto.ie Web Site : www.dwalshphoto.ie ALL IMAGES ARE COVERED BY COPYRIGHT ©

A NORTH Kerry school is feeling a lot more confident in the daily battle with Covid after receiving the gift of six special air purifiers – each one capable of trapping an entire room’s worth of floating viral particles in just a matter of minutes.

T he devices were donated to Sliabh a’Mhadra National School in Ballyduff by Energywise Ireland founder and director Berth Sheehy and his wife Rosemarie.

The company is at the leading edge of energy-related tech and with the couple’s children Hannah and James attending Sliabh a’Mhadra NS both Berth and Rosemarie moved to ensure the primary would benefit from the very latest in the frontline arsenal against Covid.

Principal Breda O’Dwyer was overjoyed to receive the devices; which now back-up the CO2 monitoring already in place in the school:

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“The Monitors let you know when to increase ventilation as they move from green to yellow to orange and finally red depending on the level of CO2 in the room.

“We open all windows and doors in an effort to freshen the air but sometimes this is not enough, so we have to vacate the room for five to 10 minutes to bring the monitor back to green again.

“It can be quite cold and we have to ‘layer-up’ with extra clothing,” Breda explained.

“Imagine our delight when Berth Sheehy of Energywise Ireland arrived one morning with six air purifiers.

“Berth and his wife Rosemarie felt that by providing an air purifier for each of our classrooms that it would provide another layer of protection for the pupils and staff of the school.”

Of a technology known as ‘HEPA’ filters (‘high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter’) each machine can reputedly trap 99.97% of particles down to an individual scale of 0.3 microns.

To give a sense of the scale, the smallest objects that the average human eye can see are around 70 microns in size.

The concept is simple - the HEPA filters trap and kill nearly all viral particles circulating in the classroom air; thereby reducing the transmission of the virus should anyone in the room be infectious.

“This is a great benefit to staff and pupils as it means that while we still have to try to keep the CO2 as low as possible, we know that if, despite our best efforts, we fail to do it that the viruses in the air will be caught by the air purifier,” Breda said, adding: “We cannot thank Energywise Ireland and Berth and Rosemarie Sheehy enough for their generous gift of a Daiken Air Purifier for each classroom.

“These are very quiet machines and use very little electricity. They are easy to install – you merely have to plug them in.

“Thanks to Energywise and the Sheehy Family we were among the first schools in the country to have a hepa filter in every classroom.”

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