Seoul City Lowers COVID Risk in Daycare Centers... Supports Installation of Indoor Ventilation Systems

Reducing Indoor Pollution and Saving Heating and Cooling Energy in Childcare Centers Densely Populated with Infection-Vulnerable Infants and Toddlers

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 27th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will start a project for the first time to support the installation costs of ventilation facilities in Seoul's national and public daycare centers to create daycare centers safe from the risks of COVID-19.

The goal is to create "Ventilation-Safe Daycare Centers" by installing air circulators that improve indoor air quality in daycare centers where infants and young children vulnerable to infection are densely gathered, thereby reducing indoor pollution and allowing parents to send their children with peace of mind.

The support targets national and public daycare centers under Article 10, Clause 1 of the Infant Care Act (daycare centers established and operated by the state or local governments) that are excluded from the mandatory ventilation facility installation requirement, specifically small to medium-sized national and public daycare centers.

Currently, Seoul's national and public daycare centers with a total floor area of 430㎡ or more are subject to mandatory ventilation facility installation under the Building Act and have ventilation facilities installed. However, daycare centers built before December 31, 2009, with a total floor area of 1000㎡ or less were not subject to this installation requirement. Such national and public daycare centers account for 75%.

Daycare centers without ventilation facilities currently rely on natural ventilation by opening windows, resulting in varying indoor air quality and pollution levels depending on the efforts of the managers. Moreover, natural ventilation causes indoor air to escape suddenly, leading to significant heat loss and high energy charges.

When air circulators are installed, they temporarily hold the incoming outside air and use a heat exchange method to cool or heat it, which also effectively reduces the building's heating and cooling energy consumption.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will support the installation of 153 air circulators in 29 national and public daycare centers across 20 autonomous districts. The selection of support targets has been completed through applications via the districts. The subsidy for air circulator installation will be provided to the districts by August 1. The districts will receive the city subsidies and carry out installation work from August to November.

In consultation with each daycare center, the type of air circulator suitable for the location and installation capacity will be selected and installed. The types of air circulators are broadly divided into duct type (ceiling embedded) and ductless type (floor installation). The ductless type (floor installation) takes about 2 days for construction and is approximately 40% cheaper to install than the duct type (ceiling embedded).

Kim Seong-bo, Director of the Housing Policy Office of Seoul, said, "The importance of ventilation facilities in buildings has been highlighted since COVID-19. Supporting the installation of ventilation facilities in daycare centers is expected to greatly contribute not only to daily COVID-19 prevention but also to energy savings." He added, "We will actively consider expanding continuous support for ventilation facility installation through monitoring the project results."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.