The Ark Learning Center
Early Childhood Education
INDUSTRY
Early Childhood Education Centers
LOCATION
Londonderry, Tilton, & Hooksett, NH
PRODUCT
(38) HALO HEPA Air Purification Systems
PROCESS
Air purifcation through ceiling mounted Erlab HALO HEPA filtration to Remove:
Indoor Air Pollution
Flue/Viruses
Particulate Matter
Mold
Bacteria
“ERLAB EQUIPMENT PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN SAFETY AND INDOOR AIR PURIFICATION
APPLICATION AREA:
Early Childhood Education Facilities
The Ark Learning Center continues to flourish today, with what began as the fulfillment of a dream, to offer the community the choice of quality, early childhood education, and care. Janet Ellis opened The Ark as a licensed nursery, preschool, and school-aged program in March of 1998.
After 20 years of providing quality care to our community, Janet passed the baton to her daughter, Danielle, in 2019. Danielle watched The Ark grow and, over the years, has worked every position at The Ark. She has a Master’s degree
in Business Administration and is a Doctoral Candidate in Educational Leadership. Her vision is to continue to provide the same quality care while improving the systems and procedures through staff training and mentoring. We have grown from one child enrolled on opening day to our current enrollment of over 200 children in three locations (Tilton, Hooksett, & Londonderry). And we are still growing!
THE CHALLENGE
Dedicated to protecting the health of those under their roof, the Ark Center determined that they would honor their promise to ‘maintain a clean and safe environment where parents can have confidence in the quality of nurture and care their child receives each day.’ Even as the pandemic remains a menace, they continue to look for ways to prevent the spread of germs, pollution, and contaminants.
This commitment led them to research new products that would aid in their stated mission. Their search started by reviewing products that could safely kill 99.99% of contamination, not only on surfaces but everywhere viruses and bacteria hide in a daycare setting, like books, clothes, pillows, blankets, and toys. To this end they purchased a Zono machine that uses ozone to safely eradicate common viruses and bacteria on everyday objects within the school. Following this purchase they reasoned that not only surface disinfection was needed, but as it is common knowledge that viruses and contaminates are airborne, they needed to address their air as well.
THE SCOPE
Before installation of the 38 HALO systems, Erlab performed testing at all three Ark locations. The goal is to get an understanding of the pollution concentration present in each room and understand the overall health of the facilities, which also provides us the necessary data to provide a recommendation of how many units will be needed along with placement based on the collected results. The collected data seen in the chart below, represent the cumulative particles present in each location ranging from 10 microns down to 0.3 microns, which pose the biggest risk to our overall health as due to their size are not adequately filtered by our bodies and by-pass our protective mucus membranes. Approximately one week after the installation of the HALOs we duplicated the air samples taken pre-installation in order to obtain comparable data with the goal being a dramatic reduction of present particles. The results show a very successful installation with an average reduction exceedingly well over 80%. All testing performed during pre and post installation was during occupied hours as to avoid false readings in a static condition.
THE SOLUTION
The owner of the Ark Learning Center, Danielle Higuera, commented that “We hoped that the HALO air filtration systems would help minimize the amount of illness in our buildings, reduce air pollution/contamination, and provide a cleaner
environment.” Erlab tested the air quality pre-installation and one week after installation. Danielle was on-site and reviewed the ‘one week after’ air quality testing in real-time with our air filtration experts and she was estactic: “The HALO systems have completely blown us away in their effectiveness. The delivery and installation were flawless and parents and teachers could tell an immediate difference in air quality.”When a client expresses that ‘If and when we expand to future locations, HALO installations will be a must-have,’ we are gratified that the many years spent in perfecting our air filtration products have culminated in moments like these – enhancing and protecting the lives and livelihoods of our community.
HALO AIR FILTRATION SYSTEMS
Control airborne hazards for a happy, healthy community with HALO above
Airborne risks pose a unique challenge for administrators, staff, and residents. Air quality control enables you to mitigate the dangers of viral transmission and exposure to harmful particles.
- Reduce the risk of viral airborne transmission
- Mitigate exposure to mold, fungi, and bacteria
- Increase residents’ quality of life with healthier air
- Provide a cleaner environment equivalent to an ISO 8 cleanroom
- Create an environment of comfort for staff knowing the air they breathe is being treated
THE RESULT
Erlab could speak to the proficiency and success of our HALO air filtration system as well as the fact that we are setting the standard for IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) nationally and beyond, but we would prefer to let the testimonials from the Ark parents and teachers speak for us:
“As a parent of a preschooler, I love that The Ark is putting such focus on keeping our kids safe and healthy.”
“Everyone warns you that the first year in childcare, your kid will get sick a lot. I’m so happy to say that hasn’t been my experience! My baby is happy and healthy!”
Teacher testimonials –
“Not only does my room not have the dreaded lingering diaper smell, but the HALOs also provide a soft back-light and white noise that helps my children nap better!”
“I didn’t know that you could literally smell clean air. I love to come into my classroom and just breathe better.”
ABOUT ERLAB
We provide safety, we protect your health
Erlab invented the ductless fume hood in 1968. With more than 50 years of experience in the field of chemical filtration and protection of laboratory personnel; we know the formula for safety. With Erlab, you will never have to wonder or worry if our products are safe. We build each one of the following 7 ingredients into our products, and without all of them, your health and safety will be compromised.
ERLAB R&D LABORATORY
The engineers and chemists in our state-of-the-art R&D laboratory understand molecular filtration. We are committed to designing products that are safe and of the highest quality, strive to improve our products, and continuously develop new products that provide greater protection in the laboratory.
STRICT SAFETY STANDARDS
We hold ourselves to the highest standard and adhere to the strict AFNOR NF X 15-211: 2009 filtration safety standard as endorsed by ANSI Z9.5-2012.
A PUBLISHED CHEMICAL LISTING
It all begins here. Without this listing, we are not compliant with AFNOR NFX 15-211. Our in-house laboratory tests, as well as independent testing, to verify the retention capacity of over 700 chemicals for our filters.
INDEPENDENT TESTING
Erlab filters have been independently tested multiple times at various concentrations guaranteeing that our safety solutions all adhere to the strict performance criteria of theAFNOR NF X 15-211:2009 standard assuring that the emission concentration at the filter exhaust will always be lower than 1% of the TLV.
APPLICATION QUESTIONNAIRE (VALIQUEST)
Our laboratory specialists will recommend the appropriate filtration fume hood, type of filter, and personalized advice.
CERTIFICATE OF VALIDATION FOR THE CHEMICALS USED IN THE HOOD
A certified PhD chemist issues a Certificate of Validation with a list of the chemicals approved for use in the hood.
Our Safety Program
We back up our products 100%. This program includes your specialized chemical evaluation, validation of your hood upon installation, and a filtration safety specialist at your service to ensure that your hood is operating to its full potential.
