A company is involved from the start when IoT technology is to be tested at a new upper secondary school in Arvika. Swegon's focus is on creating as good an indoor environment as possible, which can have a strong impact on both how you feel and perform at school.
On March 1, the two-year project "IoT in the school for everyone" started. The goal of the project is to create societal benefit by strengthening student health, increasing learning, and creating a better life for everyone through the application of IoT technology. The school will be a test environment for innovative products and services that will be linked to research, where CTF (Center for Service Research at Karlstad University) will map data that can be used to strengthen student health.
During the spring, the project is in a preparation phase, but a company is involved right from the start. Swegon is a project partner and will, among other things, measure values for air quality and temperature.
Carl-Ola Danielsson is development manager at Swegon in Arvika, and sees great opportunities with the project:
- We collect a lot of data to be able to control our indoor climate in a good way. But we also collect data that we think others might benefit from, but that we don't really know how to use. For us, it is interesting to be part of a test bed where this data can be useful.
Quickly affects the ability to concentrate
But even Swegon's data on the core product, indoor climate, can provide relevant information linked to the students' well-being and performance. Humidity and ventilation can, for example, affect how viruses spread in a room, where dry air and poor ventilation increase the risk of spread.
- There is a lot of research that shows how important it is to have good air. Already at 1,000 ppm co2, you have lost 10 to 15 percent of your ability to solve problems, so by increasing the ventilation flow you can quite easily improve the conditions. The same thing with temperature, even when the heat is even a degree too high, you lose a lot of your ability to concentrate, says Carl-Ola Danielsson.
During the spring, Swegon will set up sensors in the existing upper secondary school, in order to have reference values with them when it is time to move to the new school this autumn. In addition to temperature and air quality, there is also the possibility of collecting data on, for example, noise and how people move in premises, which may be relevant in the project.
New schools and preschools are an important customer group for Swegon. Carl-Ola Danielsson therefore hopes that the IoT project, in addition to increasing the students' well-being, will be able to contribute to the company's product development.
- For example, it would be attractive to be able to visualize the quality of the indoor environment, linked to proposals for measures if something deviates. What we work with is very much connected to how people feel and perform, that is the core of our business. That's why this project feels really exciting, says Carl-Ola Danielsson.
Opening for more companies
Christian Persman, project manager, looks forward to seeing how students' school environment can be improved through Swegon's data. The idea is that more companies should have the opportunity to try out how IoT technology can improve conditions in school for students.
- During the spring, we are looking at how we should go about creating opportunities for companies and how we should practically do that work - and we are already ready to receive requests of interest from companies. Currently, we are also having a discussion on how to handle the work of measuring in a physical environment and measuring individuals as a group.
